Teachers Matter: An Examination of Student-Teacher Relationships, Attitudes Toward Bullying, and Bullying Behavior

Cixin Wang, Susan M. Swearer, Paige Lembeck, Adam Collins, Brandi Berry

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

60 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of student-teacher relationships and attitudes toward bullying on middle school students' bullying behaviors. Gender and grade differences were also examined. Data were collected from 435 middle school students. Results indicated that students' attitudes toward bullying mediated the relationship between student-teacher relationships and physical and verbal/relational bullying. There was a significant group difference on student-teacher relationships and attitudes toward bullying between bully, bully-victim, victim, and bystander groups and students not involved in bullying. In addition, sixth graders reported significantly more positive student-teacher relationships than seventh and eighth graders. Implications for the role of both cognitive and behavioral bullying intervention and prevention efforts are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)219-238
Number of pages20
JournalJournal of Applied School Psychology
Volume31
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 3 2015

Keywords

  • attitudes toward bullying
  • bullying
  • student-teacher relationships

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Applied Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Teachers Matter: An Examination of Student-Teacher Relationships, Attitudes Toward Bullying, and Bullying Behavior'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this