Academic Performance and Family Characteristics of Adolescents with Violent Behaviour or Victimised by their Peers in the School Environment

Abstract

School violence and high failure and dropout rates are a serious social problem worldwide. The influence of family variables on violent behaviour is present in the literature but our aim was to analyse the relationship of violent behaviour and school victimisation during adolescence with academic performance and family climate. Method; An ex post facto retrospective single-group design was used. The total sample consisted of 1223 students (45% male), with an age range between 13 and 18 years. The Delinquent and Violent Behaviour Scale was used to assess maladaptive social behaviours and students reported mean scores in language, environmental knowledge and mathematics and aspects related to family structure and the quality of relationships with both parents. The results identified violent students, victimized students, and victim and violent students (combined role). All had low academic achievement, especially boys with a violent and combined role profile. Likewise, the probability of low academic achievement was higher for those whose parents had low academic or professional qualifications, if they perceived a poor relationship with the mother or if their gender is male. Conclusions: The results obtained are discussed in terms of their educational implications, underlining the need to reinforce positive and empathic parental interactions, mainly of the mother.