Peer Aggression and Teacher-Student Relationship Quality: A Meta-Analytic Investigation

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.