Poster #48 - Teacher Student Relationship Quality as a Moderator of the Relation Between Beliefs about Bullying and Bullying Behavior

• In Event: Poster Session 01

Abstract

Previous research has identified children’s endorsement of anti-bullying norms as a robust negative predictor of bullying behavior (Salmivalli & Voeten, 2004), whereas children’s tendency to disengage morally from anti-bullying prohibitions is associated with greater involvement in bullying behavior (Hymel & Bonanno, 2014). There is also research indicating that a supportive teacher-student relationship can often protect vulnerable children from involvement in school bullying (Huang et al., 2018). In this study, we examined the degree to which teacher-student relationship quality (TSRQ) moderated the relations between bullying behavior and children’s endorsement of anti-bullying norms as well as their tendency to endorse beliefs suggesting moral disengagement from those norms. Notably, endorsement of anti-bullying norms and moral disengagement were assessed using items that covered multiple school contexts: classroom, lunchroom, and playground. In addition, our assessment of bullying included both self and other (i.e., peer & teacher) reports.

The study comprised of 372 children (52% female, M age = 9.33 years old, enrolled in 3rd to 5th grade) across 5 elementary schools in south-central U.S. Children completed the Injunctive Norms for Child Behaviors Scale (Adopted from NOBAGS and Moral Disengagement Scale), to measure how children view anti-bullying norms considering a variety of forms, including physical, social, and relational bullying in different environments of the school. Children also reported on their relationship with their teacher using an adapted version of the Network of Relationships Inventory (Furman & Buhrmester, 1985), and questionnaires on the bullying habits of peers in school. Teachers also completed a relationship inventory with their students.

Regression results, controlling for gender and ethnicity (Latinx vs. non-Latinx), revealed that anti-bullying norms assessed in multiple school contexts was a significant negative predictor of self-reported bullying. This effect was qualified, however, by a significant interaction between anti-bullying norms and TSRQ. Post hoc analyses indicated that for children with a low quality TSR (i.e., below the mean), anti-bullying norms was a significant negative predictor of self-reported bullying. There was no relation between anti-bullying norms and self-reported bullying for children whose TSRQ score was above the mean. Moral disengagement assessed across multiple school contexts was unrelated to self-reported bullying, whether as main effect or an interaction with TSRQ. When predicting other reports of bullying, child gender and TSRQ emerged as significant predictors: Girls were viewed as less involved in bullying than boys and higher TSRQ scores predicted less involvement in bullying.

Authors

• Tyler Forest Moore, University of Arkansas
  Presenting Author

• Julia Kiefer, University of Arkansas

• Emily-Anne Del Rosario

• Jake Steggerda, University of Arkansas

• Melissa Brown, University of Arkansas

• Tim A. Cavell, University of Arkansas