Examining Responses to Rejection among Students in a High School Setting

• In Event: Exploring the Individual, School and Community Level Factors and the Interactions between Them that Contribute to School Safety

Abstract

In the spring semester of the 2015-2016 academic year, a team of researchers from the Social Relations Collaborative of the Social Sciences Research Center (SRL) at Mississippi State University used Qualtrics to administer self-report surveys to 447 high school students at a public high school in Mississippi. The results from that data collection reveal important differences in how students respond to rejection at school. Results suggest that a substantial number of students experience each of four types of aggression (physical, verbal, social, and cyber). Additionally, prosocial, antisocial, and withdrawal responses to aggression vary both by the type of aggression and the context in which students experience that aggression. Implications for future research and educational policy are also discussed.

Authors

• David May, Mississippi State University

• Makeela Wells, Mississippi State University

• Megan Stubbs-Richardson, Mississippi State University

• H. Colleen Sinclair, Mississippi State University

• Jabari Sellers, Mississippi State University

• Tawny McCleon, Mississippi State University

• Rebecca Goldberg, Mississippi State University