The relationship between teachers and students plays a critical role in the psychosocial development of children and youth. Bronfrenbrenner’s (2006) bioecological model of development and Bowlby’s (1969) attachment theory have been used to understand both the negative effects of peer aggression and the positive potential of social contexts to prevent harms related to aggression among students. Literature shows that teacher-student relationships that are characterized by higher levels of closeness and support are linked to decreases in bullying behaviour and victimization, whereas increased conflict and less support in teacher-student relationships have been found to result in increased bullying perpetration and victimization among students. While the literature suggests trends regarding the association between teacher-student relationship quality and peer aggression prevalence, there remains limited understanding as to the size and direction of the effect. The present meta-analysis synthesizes a substantial body of research examining the association between teacher-student relationship quality and peer aggression in school. A systematic search was conducted using literature from PsycINFO, ERIC, Education Source, and ProQuest (theses and dissertations). Quantitative cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that measured the association between teacher-student relationship quality (i.e., in terms of closeness and conflict) and peer aggression (i.e., perpetration and victimization) were included in the analysis. Additionally, grade level, informant, and scale quality were included as moderators in the analysis to determine their effect on the relation between teacher-student relationship quality and peer aggression. This meta-analysis advances our understanding of the role of teacher-student relationship quality in peer interactions at school, and the results can inform bullying prevention programs by providing insight as to where to allocate resources and energy.

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Peer aggression is a significant problem among adolescents; it is relatively common and frequently experienced among adolescents. Recently, there has been growing attention to the occurrence and impact of bullying on adolescent's well being at school. There is still a lot to learn about why certain adolescents are targets for bullying. This study explores how certain personality traits, behaviors, and social status may be predictors for those who are targeted as victims of peer aggression. Students in three middle schools and one junior high school from three different school districts in Texas were asked to participate in this study. The sample consisted of 233 students. Students were both males and females who were attending 6th, 7th, and 8th grade and were between the ages of 12 and 15. Data was aggregated for each participating student from demographic information collected from the Cover Sheet, with participant demographics, Bullying/Victimization Scale (BVS), Behavior Assessment System for Children - Self-Report (BASC-SRP), and Social Support Scale for Children and Adolescents (Social Support - CFS). The data obtained supported the expectation that adolescents who presented with symptoms of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, high external locus of control, low self-reliance, and high sense of inadequacy are more likely to become victims of peer aggression than adolescents who are more socially competent, more psychologically well-adjusted, and who have a higher internal locus of control. Additionally, adolescents who show signs of social stress may also be more likely to become victims of peer aggression. This is an important step in the needed research because the victim is often overlooked when peer aggression is occurring. Identification of potential victims and assistance with development of their social skills may aid them in avoiding acts of peer aggression.

The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to examine retrospective experiences of bullying among a diverse sample of ethnic minority and lesbian, gay, and bisexual college students. This study examined the language that college students used to describe forms of peer aggression that they may have experienced or observed during their elementary, middle school, or high school years. The ways in which they made meaning of their experiences of peer aggression and interpreted effects of such experiences were assessed. The specific meanings that participants attached to the term `bullying' were also explored. This study attended to the influence of multicultural group memberships on language usage and meaning-making of peer aggression. Finally, this inquiry included an exploration of the impact of stigma upon assuming or avoiding personal identification as a victim of peer aggression. This qualitative investigation employed individual interviewing with college students in order to explore the primary research questions and utilized constructivist grounded theory methods and analysis. According to the results, issues of cultural identity and cultural context emerged as strong themes in this investigation. Peer aggression experienced by culturally diverse individuals often involved identity-specific peer interactions which occurred within or emerged out of cultural context. The implications of these results are that attending to culture and context may be crucial to gaining an understanding of the social worlds of minority-identified people and to developing more culturally relevant research and practice. The findings also support calls for continued research on the role of culture in the nature of and meanings associated with bullying. Moreover, the results indicated that the participants tended to minimize experiences and outcomes of bullying and to distance themselves from stigmatized victim identities. These factors may undermine constructions of bullying as a social problem and thus warrant further attention by claims-makers interested in drawing attention to this issue.

Bullying is reported to be one of the most prevalent forms of violence in schools and has negative health, financial, and social outcomes. Researchers define bullying as (a) aggressive behavior that is (b) repeated over time and that involves (c) a real/ perceived imbalance of power. The literature on bullying is limited due to the absence of functional behavior assessment procedures and individualized interventions for bullying behaviors. Study 1 developed the Functional Assessment of Bullying Behaviors in Schools (FABB-S) tool. Following expert review 21 items were found to have content validity. Following revision, the items were reviewed by child work groups and were all found to have face validity. Study 2 evaluated the effectiveness of the FABB-S to lead to reductions in aggression toward peers. Direct observation and staff daily rating data indicated that one participant’s problem behavior showed initial signs of decrease following intervention, a second participant’s problem behavior showed increased stability throughout intervention, and a third participant’s problem behavior showed signs of decrease at the beginning and ending of the intervention phase. Social validity data indicated that student and staff participants found the FABB-S and selected interventions to be effective and acceptable. Discussion includes limitations and area for future research.

Up to 20% of US students reported being victimized by their classmates in 2017 (Wang et al., 2020). Consequences of peer victimization include self-harm and suicide attempts (Peng et al., 2019; Sigurdson et al., 2018), depression (Chou et al., 2020), anxiety (Mulder et al., 2017), low self-esteem (Cénat et al., 2015), substance use (Glassner & Cho, 2018), and bringing weapons to school (Smalley et al., 2017). Consequences appear to be worse among youth victimized due to actual or perceived social identities (e.g., targeted because of race or sexual orientation; Bucchianeri, 2016). Peer aggression has been declared a public health issue (Feder, 2007) and researchers continue to seek interventions to decrease its frequency (Olweus & Limber, 2010; Salmivalli et al., 2011; Newman-Carlson & Horne, 2004). This research found youth reporting social identity-based victimization were more likely to experience negative consequences than others, and feelings of social alienation partially explained these outcomes.

Despite the increase in bullying behavior that has occurred among high school students, there is a lack of age appropriate intervention programs available to assist secondary administrators and staff with this problem. The purpose of this case study in 1 high school in a suburb of a major Mid-Atlantic city in the United States was to determine the perceptions held by secondary administrators and staff of an adapted antibullying program, originally created for use in elementary schools, in reducing the incidences of bullying behavior and feelings of strain. This study was also designed to explore how administrators and staff perceived if the bullying prevention program fostered prosocial behavior, and the extent to which the program reduced peer aggression, peer harassment, and strain. The conceptual framework was general strain theory described by Durkheim and Merton. The design for this case study included interviews with 5 teachers and 3 administrators who had been involved in implementation of the antibullying program. Open coding was used to organize and analyze the data for the emergence of significant concepts and patterns. Codes were formulated into four associated meanings or themes; relationships, student responsibility, positive culture, and trusting and supportive environment. The results indicated that school personnel were able to modify an existing bullying prevention program that has changed the culture of the school and the mindset of its student body while helping the students to alleviate strain and issues of aggression and harassment. The current research may affect social change by encouraging other secondary schools to assess their bullying prevention programs to determine if the material being used is age appropriate for secondary students and if the programs are indeed alleviating bullying behavior and strain in their students.