Examination of Aggression and School Attitudes of High School Students Exposed to Teacher Violence and Peer Bullying

ABSTRACT

This study primarily aimed to examine whether high school students’ exposure to teacher violence and peer bullying predicts their aggressive behaviors and attitudes toward school. The study group of the research included a total of 880 secondary education students (473 girls, 407 boys) (mean age: 16.26) studying in different cities of Turkey. The research utilized measures including “Personal Information Form,” “Teacher Violence Scale,” “Peer Bullying Scale Adolescent Form,” “Aggressive Behavior Scale,” and “School Attitude Scale.” The analyses performed showed that the variables exposure to teacher violence (β=.304) and peer bullying (β=.281) explained 26% of students’ aggression variance. Similarly, exposure to teacher violence (β= −.302) and exposure to peer bullying (β= −.109) predicted students’ school attitudes by 14%. The findings were discussed in line with the relevant literature.

KEYWORDS:

• School violence
• teacher violence
• aggression
• peer bullying

Acknowledgement

This study was produced from the master's thesis completed by the corresponding author under the supervision of the second author.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Muhammet Ünlü

Muhammet Ünlü is a psychological counselor working at the Ministry of National Education. she is also a Ph.D. student at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. her research areas include teacher violence, dating violence, peer bullying, marriage and family counseling. He conducted a master's thesis covering teacher violence, peer bullying, aggression, and attitudes toward school. He has been involved in national projects that prepare psychoeducational programs aimed at preventing and reducing peer bullying. In this context, she carried out group work on peer bullying, dating violence, and aggression in schools. In addition, she carries out marriage and family counseling practices and has a book chapter published on this subject. In her doctoral thesis, she works on the self-worth of married couples.

Raşit Avci

Raşit Avci is an associate professor of guidance and psychological counseling at Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. He is also a therapist and supervisor at the Institute for Systemic Psychotherapy. His research interests include aggression, violence, peer bullying, marriage and family counseling, and divorce. He has given lectures at bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels in these fields and has been involved in national projects as an author. He has also supervised many master's theses in these subjects.