Study finds school environment can moderate student aggression
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“The school had a relatively modest but nonetheless significant effect on student aggression,” said professor of family medicine Janet Reis. |
Diana Yates, Life Sciences Editor
217-333-5802; diya@uiuc.edu
Released 4/23/07
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The culture of a school can dampen – or exacerbate – the violent or disruptive tendencies of aggressive young teens, new research indicates. A large-scale study from the University of Illinois found that while personal traits and peer interactions have the most direct effect on the aggressive behavior of middle school students, the school environment also influences student aggression.
The study assessed individual, family and school predictors of aggression in 111,662 middle school students. The findings appear in the March 2007 issue of the journal, Youth & Society.
The researchers used a statistical method called hierarchical linear modeling, which separates individual and contextual effects to determine the relative importance of each. The data were compiled from surveys of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders at geographically, socioeconomically and racially diverse middle schools.
In the surveys, the students were asked to report how many times in the previous six months they had acted mean toward others, hit others or got into fights. The students also reported on how they reacted to events that upset them, their daily experience of problems or hassles, and their perceptions of family and teacher social and emotional support.
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