Effects of Teacher-Student Relationships on Peer Harassment: A Multilevel Study

Abstract

Peer harassment is a major social problem affecting children and adolescents internationally. Much research has focused on student-to-student harassment from either an individual or a multilevel perspective. There is a paucity of multilevel research on students' relationships with the classroom teacher. The purpose of this study was to use a socioecological perspective to examine the relationships between individual student-level characteristics, problematic teacher-student relationships, and student-reported peer harassment. A total of 1,864 children (50.7% female) aged 8 to 13 years (M = 9.82, SD = 1.24), nested in 27 schools (58.2% public) in Spain, participated in the study. Ninety-four homeroom teachers reported on teacher-student relationships, and students completed self-report measures related to peer harassment and teacher-student relationships. Multilevel models showed that relationships between students and teachers exerted a varying degree of influence on classroom levels of peer harassment. Specifically, student-reported teacher support was associated with diminished student-reported peer victimization, whereas direct and indirect student-reported teacher-to-student aggression was associated with increased peer victimization. Additionally, student-reported student-to-teacher aggression and teacher-to-student aggression were associated with increased student-reported peer aggression. Teacher-reported variables at the classroom level, however, contributed little to student-reported outcomes. Results are discussed in the context of future research on relationships between teachers and students. C 2015

The protective role of teacher–student relationships against peer victimization and psychosocial distress

“…As a first step toward addressing this aim, we were interested in assessing whether teacher-student relationships were associated with PV and psychosocial distress. Consistent with established findings, we hypothesized that teacherstudent relationships would be negatively related to PV (e.g., Elledge et al, 2016;Lucas-Molina et al, 2015;Mann et al, 2015). Similarly, and consistent with a social support theoretical framework and literature indicating that teacherstudent relationships can protect against adversity more generally (e.g., Baker et al, 2008;Opdenakker, Mualana, & den Brok, 2012), we also hypothesized that teacher-student relationships would be negatively related to psychosocial distress.…”

“…In another recent cross‐sectional study that was conducted with a large sample of students in Spain ( N = 1,864; ages 8–12 years), Lucas‐Molina, Williamson, Pulido, and Pérez‐Albéniz () found that teacher support was associated with reductions in student‐reported PV. Additionally, hostile teacher–student relationships were found to be associated with higher levels of PV at school.…”

The Interplay Between Adolescents’ Perceptions of Teacher-Student Relationships and Their Academic Self-Regulation: Does Liking a Specific Teacher Matter?

“…Moreover, teacher‐student relationships have been shown to affect student behavior during childhood and adolescence on several outcomes. For instance, children who perceive their teachers as supportive report less victimization (i.e., harassment) by peers and those who have problematic relationships with their teachers report experiencing greater victimization (Lucas‐Molina, Williamson, Pulido, & Pérez‐Albéniz, ). Furthermore, adolescents who perceive social support from their teachers experience greater life satisfaction and less psychopathology in the form of externalizing behaviors (Stewart & Suldo, ).…”

Doživljanje nasilja v mladostništvu: vloga odnosov z vrstniki, odnosov z učitelji ter čustvenih in socialnih kompetenc

“…Vzdolžna raziskava viktimizacije (Troop-Gordon in Kopp, 2011) je pokazala, da pozitivni odnosi med učenci in učitelji ne varujejo učencev pred pojavom viktimizacije. Hkrati raziskovalni izsledki kažejo na pomembno vlogo negativnih odnosov med učenci in učitelji, ki so povezani z višjo stopnjo medvrstniške viktimizacije v šolskem okolju (Lucas-Molina, Williamson, Pulido in Perez-Albeniz, 2015). Če učenci poročajo o slabšem odnosu z učitelji, to vpliva na to, da so bolj ranljivi za doživljanje psihičnega distresa ob doživljanju viktimizacije (Sulkowski in Simmons, 2017).…”

“…Pozitivni odnosi z učitelji so lahko pozitiven napovednik viktimizacije v primeru, ko drugi učenci te odnose označujejo negativno, kar lahko spodbudi zbadanje učencev, ki se z učitelji dobro razumejo. Negativni odnosi z učitelji so se pokazali kot izjemno pomemben napovednik viktimizacije, in sicer slabši, kot so zaznani odnosi z učitelji, višja je poročana stopnja viktimizacije, kar je skladno z rezultati predhodnih raziskav, kjer je bilo prav tako ugotovljeno, da negativni odnosi z učitelji kažejo na večjo verjetnost, da so učenci deležni nasilja (Lucas-Molina et al, 2015;Marengo et al, 2018). Pri raziskovanju viktimizacije in odnosov z učitelji je bilo prav tako predpostavljeno, da za preprečevanje doživljanja nasilja pri učencih ni nujno, da imajo pozitivne odnose z učitelji, ampak je dovolj to, da so odnosi med njimi ustrezni in da jih učenci ne označujejo kot negativne (Sulkowski in Simmons, 2017), kar učiteljem omogoča, da vplivajo na razredno klimo, se učinkovito odzivajo na težave in pomagajo učencem, da se počutijo varne in sprejete, kar lahko pomaga pri zmanjševanju doživljanja nasilja med učenci (Jennings in Greenberg, 2009).…”