Teacher Affirmation and Adolescent Well-Being: A Multilevel Analysis of Pronoun Use, Mattering, Loneliness, Safety, and Bias-Based Bullying.

Kamilla Bonnesen, Amanda Krygsman, Sarah Hobson, Amie Presley, Janet O'Reilly, Tracy Vaillancourt

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Journal of youth and adolescence, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Kamilla BonnesenCounselling Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, 145 Jean-Jacques-Lussier, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8522-717X

Amanda KrygsmanCounselling Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, 145 Jean-Jacques-Lussier, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1398-7572

Sarah HobsonSchool of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, 145 Jean-Jacques-Lussier, ON, K1N 6N5, Ottawa, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-7067-2936

Amie PresleyToronto District School Board, Toronto, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-3010-9559

Janet O'ReillyToronto District School Board, Toronto, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0003-4116-6760

Tracy VaillancourtCounselling Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Ottawa, 145 Jean-Jacques-Lussier, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada. tracy.vaillancourt@uottawa.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9058-7276

Funding

Canada First Research Excellence Fund 160789

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Identity-affirming teacher practices, such as using correct pronouns, may act as Identity Safety Cues for individual students and the wider school climate. Participants were 42,088 Canadian adolescents in grades 7-12 (age M = 14.6, SD = 1.8; 49.3% girls, 4.0% gender diverse, 15.1% 2SLGBTQIA+). Multilevel models tested associations among teacher pronoun use, bullying victimization (general and bias-based), and well-being (mattering, loneliness, safety). Bias-based victimization was associated with worse outcomes. School level pronoun affirmation was associated with higher well-being for the student body but not with a reduced slope of bias-based bullying victimization. In highly supportive climates, the negative association with mattering was stronger at severe bullying levels, consistent with a healthy context paradox. Teacher pronoun use may be a broadly shared protective climate asset.

Indexed as

Adolescent BehaviorBullyingLonelinessSchool TeachersStudentsAdolescentCanadaCrime VictimsFemaleHumansMaleMultilevel AnalysisPsychological SafetyPsychological Well-BeingSchoolsBias-based bullyingIdentity safety cueMatteringSchool climateTeacher pronoun use

Identifiers

PMID42678479

DOI10.1007/s10964-026-02406-w

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.