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. 2019;18(2):200-215.
doi: 10.1080/15388220.2018.1453820. Epub 2018 Apr 9.

Understanding the relationship between perceived school climate and bullying: A mediator analysis

Joie Acosta  1 , Matthew Chinman  1 , Patricia Ebener  1 , Patrick S Malone  2 , Andrea Phillips  1 , Asa Wilks  1
Affiliations

Understanding the relationship between perceived school climate and bullying: A mediator analysis

Joie Acosta et al. J Sch Violence. 2019.

Abstract

This study assesses how perceptions of school climate and four mediating factors (school connectedness, peer attachment, assertiveness, and empathy) influence reports of bullying behaviors among 2,834 students in 14 middle schools. Results revealed that students in positive school climates reported experiencing fewer physical, emotional, and cyberbullying behaviors. They also reported greater levels of school connectedness, peer attachment, assertiveness, and empathy, which in turn helped explain the influence of perceived school climate on bullying. In addition, the greater levels of empathy that students reported, the more likely they were to report being bullied. These results highlight the role that perceptions of school climate can play in influencing bullying and underscore the importance of mediating factors as schools work to track and improve school climate.

Keywords: Evaluation; RCT; positive youth development; restorative practices.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest The authors have no conflict of interests to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mediation model. This figure illustrates the mediation paths examined in this study. These paths are focused on understanding how three variables—school connectedness, peer attachment, and two social skills (i.e., assertion and empathy)—mediate the relationship between each perceived school climate variable (i.e., clarity or consistency, teacher support, positive peer interactions, and student input) and physical bullying, cyberbullying, and emotional bullying. These mediators are in the middle of the figure, with perceived school climate on the left and bullying on the right of the mediators.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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