Teacher-child relationships and behavioral adjustment: transactional links for preschool boys at risk

Relationship Between Direct Aggression and Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Attention and Intelligence Among Children at Risk for Behavioral Problems

This study aimed to investigate the influence of attention and intelligence in the prediction of prosocial behavior by direct aggression (proactive or reactive) in school-aged children at risk for behavioral problems. The sample was composed of 64 children aged 6 to 8 years screened for risk of behavioral problems, who were enrolled in a clinical trial. Multiple regression models were tested to investigate the prediction of prosocial behavior by direct aggression (proactive or reactive), attention, and intelligence. Additive multiple moderation models were tested to analyze the conditional effect of attention and intelligence in the prediction of prosocial behavior by proactive and reactive aggression. Aggression (proactive or reactive), attention, and intelligence did not linearly predict prosocial behavior. Conditional effects were found only for the proactive aggression model. Negative impacts on prosocial behavior were observed among children with low attention and high intelligence performance, while medium and high levels of attention showed to be protective factors among low to medium intellectual ability children. Clinical impacts of the results are discussed.

Linking school- and classroom-level characteristics to child adjustment: A representative study of children from Hong Kong, China

BACKGROUND

The school is one of the most salient developmental contexts for children. However, little is known about the associations linking the school environment to child adjustment in a non-Western context, not to mention the potential processes that may mediate these associations.

AIMS

This study examined the associations of school- and classroom-level characteristics with child adjustment and tested whether these associations were mediated by teacher-child relationship qualities.

SAMPLE

Cross-sectional data were collected on a representative sample of 1777 children (mean age = 55.14 months; 50% of them were girls) from 100 kindergartens in Hong Kong, China.

METHODS

Using self-reported questionnaires, teachers rated their school-level environments, their classroom chaos, their closeness and conflict with children and children's socioemotional competence and academic ability. Meanwhile, parents rated children's behavioural problems.

RESULTS

Multilevel structural equation modelling revealed that the school-level environment and classroom chaos were uniquely associated with children's socioemotional, behavioural and academic adjustment. Moreover, the associations of the school-level environment and classroom chaos with child socioemotional and academic adjustment were mediated by teacher-child closeness and conflict, whereas the associations of the school-level environment and classroom chaos with child behavioural problems were mediated by teacher-child conflict only.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings indicated how school- and classroom-level characteristics may be uniquely associated with child adjustment and how teacher-child relationships may be implicated in the underlying mechanism, highlighting the potential utility of targeting school- and classroom-level environments and teacher-child relationships in promoting child development.

The role of parenting self-efficacy on teacher-child relationships and parent-teacher communication: Evidence from an Australian national longitudinal study

High-quality teacher-child relationships and parent-teacher communications have substantial benefits to children's well-being and school functioning. However, more research is needed to understand how parenting self-efficacy influences these relationships. This cross-sequential study investigated the direct associations of parenting self-efficacy with the teacher-child relationship and parent-teacher communication, as well as potential mediation pathways. The present study included a sample of 8152 children who participated in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC), a large study with a nationally representative sample of children from two cohorts who were 4 years apart. We used data collected in three waves when participating children were ages 6 years, 8 years, and 10 years. Structural equation modeling was used to test a panel model with parent-reported parenting self-efficacy and parent-teacher communication quality, as well as teacher-reported teacher-child relationship, child behavior difficulties, and child prosocial behaviors at school. Cross-lagged regressions demonstrated that baseline parenting self-efficacy directly and positively linked with the quality of teacher-child relationship and parent-teacher communication 2 years later. Child behavior at school was identified as a mediation pathway between parenting self-efficacy and teacher-child relationship. The same patterns were identified in two waves (Waves 6-8 and Waves 8-10). Limited child gender, parent gender, or cohort differences were observed. The current findings provide initial support that parenting self-efficacy may have spillover effects on school-related factors. The findings have implications both for parenting and school researchers and for child mental health practitioners because one important way to promote parenting self-efficacy is through evidence-based parenting programs.

The effect of parental psychological control on children's peer interactions in China: the moderating role of teachers' emotional support

Background

Peer interactions are critical to young children's social development, and proximal-system has a direct influence on personal growth. The study aims to analyze the relationship between parental psychological control and young children's peer interactions, as well as the moderating role of teachers' emotional support in this association.

Methods

A total of 241 children aged 3-6 years, alongside their parents, and 27 teachers, participated in the study. Teachers reported children's peer interactions whilst parents reported their psychological control. The level of teachers' emotional support was co-coded by two researchers.

Results

The results of the study indicated that parental psychological control was significantly and negatively related to young children's peer interactions; teachers' emotional support was significantly and positively related to young children's peer interactions; the cross-level moderating effect validates our hypothesis that teachers' emotional support has a moderating effect between parental psychological control and young children's peer interactions, buffering the impact of parental psychological control on young children's peer interactions.

Conclusion

These findings expand our comprehension of the association between parental psychological control, teachers' emotional support, and young children's peer interactions, and provide guidance for integrating the components of the proximal system and devising interventions to establish a home-school harmony environment that fosters children's social development.

Relational and physical aggression in preschool-age children: Associations with teacher, parent, sibling, and peer relationship quality

Early childhood relationships with teachers, parents, siblings, and peers are foundational factors for later social functioning. High rates of childhood aggression have been associated with negative developmental consequences, however, the associations between child aggression on the quality of these formative relationships have not been studied extensively. In a sample of young children attending preschool (N = 114, Mage = 46.27 months, SD = 9.94, 40% girls), this study investigated associations between early childhood relational and physical aggression and the quality of concurrent teacher-child and parent-child closeness and conflict, sibling relationship quality, and positive peer interactions and peer rejection. Early childhood relational and physical aggression was associated with negative teacher-child relationships, and this was true for boys and girls. Differential patterns of prediction were found for relational and physical aggression on the other relationship variables. Relational aggression strongly predicted more positive peer interactions, whereas physical aggression predicted fewer positive peer interactions and greater peer rejection. Early childhood relational aggression predicted higher levels of teacher-child closeness, whereas physical aggression predicted lower levels of teacher-child closeness and fewer positive sibling interactions. These findings challenge common perceptions that aggression is negatively associated with relationship quality. Notably, relational aggression relative to physical aggression may be associated with some favorable relationship outcomes. We did not find support for an additive model of aggression whereby children who were both relationally and physically aggressive (co-morbid) were at higher risk for negative relationship quality. Implications of these findings for future research and prevention and intervention are discussed.

White privilege and teacher perceptions of teacher-child relationship quality

In this study, we investigated differences in teachers' perceptions of the teacher-child relationship from kindergarten through second grade as a function of child race and gender from the perspective of critical race theory and the cultural synchrony hypothesis. Given the extensive evidence of White privilege and anti-Black racism in the US education system, we expected that teachers, particularly White teachers, would perceive their relationships with White children more positively than with Black children. Controlling for family SES and child gender, results supported this hypothesis. Black boys had the highest risk of being perceived by teachers as having poor relationships with teachers in kindergarten (highest conflict and lowest closeness) and White girls had the lowest risk. In addition, teachers perceived relationships with Black boys as increasing in conflict across first and second grades at higher rates than with White and female children. These findings remained after examining teacher-child racial match as a moderator. Our results indicate that racism and sexism work together to explain the perceptions teachers have of children in the early elementary grades. Implications for training teachers and school psychologists on anti-racism and cultural competency are discussed.

Reciprocal Relations Between Conflicted Student-teacher Relationship and Children's Behavior Problems: Within-person Analyses from Norway and the USA

Current evidence suggests that conflicted student-teacher relationships may increase behavior problems in children and vice-versa, but this may be due to confounding. We therefore analyzed their relation applying a within-person approach that adjusts for all time-invariant confounding effects, involving samples from Norway (n = 964, 50.9% females) and the USA (n = 1,150, 48.3% females) followed from age 4-12 years with similar measures. Increased parent-reported behavior problems forecasted increased student-teacher conflict to a similar extent in both countries (β = 0.07, p = .010), whereas teacher-reported behavior problems predicted increased student-teacher conflict more strongly in Norway (β = 0.14, p = .001) than in the US (β = 0.08, p = .050). Increased teacher-child conflict also predicted increased parent-reported (β = 0.07, p = .010), but not teacher-reported, behavior problems in both countries. Findings underscore the reciprocal relation between behavior problems and a conflictual student-teacher relationship.

Longitudinal Associations between Teacher-Student Relationships and Prosocial Behavior in Adolescence: The Mediating Role of Basic Need Satisfaction

The quality of teacher-student relationships has been shown to relate to adolescents' prosocial behavior, but the motivational mechanisms underlying this association remained unclear. Based on relationships motivation theory (RMT), we examined whether the associations between teacher-student relationships (closeness and conflict) and prosocial behavior are bidirectional, and the mediating role of basic psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, competence, and relatedness need satisfaction) in these links. Data were collected from a sample of 438 secondary school students who completed a survey at two-time points over eight months. The cross-lagged autoregressive model revealed that the relation between close teacher-student relationship and prosocial behavior was bidirectional over time. Moreover, relatedness need satisfaction mediated the positive effect of close teacher-student relationship and the negative effect of teacher-student relationship conflict on adolescents' prosocial behavior. This study highlights the importance of close teacher-student relationship and relatedness need satisfaction to foster adolescents' prosocial behavior.

Associations between Student-Teacher Bonds and Oppositional Behavior Against Teachers in Adolescence: A Longitudinal Analysis from Ages 11 to 15

Prior research has found evidence for a positive effect of student-teacher bonds on children's behavior. However, little research has investigated these relations following a transactional model of child development. This study investigated the bidirectional associations between student-teacher relationships and oppositional behaviors towards teachers using the 'Zurich Project on the Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood' (n = 1527; median ages 11, 13 and 15; 49% female). Results of a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model suggested that, among boys, positive student-teacher bonds at age 13 were associated with fewer teacher-reported oppositional behaviors two years later. The results indicated that negative interactions with teachers may be part of vicious cycles of poor relationships and increased levels of oppositional behavior, particularly for boys in late adolescence.

Relationship quality in higher education and the interplay with student engagement and loyalty

BACKGROUND

To date, studies that have investigated the bonds between students and their institution have emphasized the importance of student-staff relationships. Measuring the quality of those relationships (i.e., relationship quality) appears to help with investigating the relational ties students have with their higher education institutions. Growing interest has arisen in further investigating relationship quality in higher education, as it might predict students' involvement with the institution (e.g., student engagement and student loyalty). So far, most studies have used a cross-sectional design, so that causality could not be determined.

AIMS

The aim of this longitudinal study was twofold. First, we investigated the temporal ordering of the relation between the relationship quality dimensions of trust (in benevolence and honesty) and affect (satisfaction, affective commitment, and affective conflict). Second, we examined the ordering of the paths between relationship quality, student engagement, and student loyalty. Our objectives were to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship quality construct in higher education and its later outcomes.

SAMPLE

Participants (N = 1649) were students from three Dutch higher education institutions who were studying in a technology economics or social sciences program.

METHODS

Longitudinal data from two time points were used to evaluate two types of cross-lagged panel models. In the first analysis, we could not assume measurement invariance for affective conflict over time. Therefore, we tested an alternative model without affective conflict, using the latent variables of trust and affect, the student engagement dimensions and student loyalty. In the second type of model, we investigated the manifest variables of relationship quality, student engagement, and student loyalty. The hypotheses were tested by evaluating simultaneous comparisons between estimates.

RESULTS

Results indicated that the relation between relationship quality at Time 1 with student engagement and loyalty at Time 2 was stronger than the reverse ordering in the first model. In the second model, results indicated that cross-lagged relations between trust in benevolence and trust in honesty at Time 1 and affective commitment, affective conflict, and satisfaction at Time 2 were more likely than the reverse ordering. Furthermore, cross-lagged relations from relationship quality at Time 1 to student engagement and student loyalty at Time 2 also supported our hypothesis.

CONCLUSIONS

This study contributes to the existing higher education literature, indicating that students' trust in the quality of their relationship with faculty/staff is essential for developing students' affective commitment and satisfaction and for avoiding conflict over time. Second, relationship quality factors positively influence students' engagement in their studies and their loyalty towards the institution. A relational approach to establishing (long-lasting) bonds with students appears to be fruitful as an approach for educational psychologists and for practitioners' guidance and strategies. Recommendations are made for future research to further examine relationship quality in higher education in Europe and beyond.

The Association between School Corporal Punishment and Child Developmental Outcomes: A Meta-Analytic Review

School corporal punishment (SCP) is still widely used in many countries. Although primary studies have pointed toward detrimental effects of SCP, a quantitative review of these studies was not yet available. To gain better insight into effects of SCP, three meta-analyses were conducted on the association between SCP and children’s (1) externalizing behavior, (2) internalizing behavior, and (3) school performance. These meta-analyses synthesized 21 studies (120 effect sizes; N = 67,400), 14 studies (18 effect sizes; N = 39,917), and 20 studies (47 effect sizes; N = 977,367), respectively. Studies were synthesized using a three-level approach to meta-analysis. The results revealed that SCP is positively associated with externalizing behavior (r = 0.27, p < 0.001) and internalizing behavior of children (r = 0.16, p < 0.001), and negatively with children’s school performance (r = −0.11, p < 0.001). This review concludes that SCP is a risk factor for externalizing behavior, internalizing behavior, and reduced school performance of children. Other techniques than SCP should be used for class management, and we recommend psychoeducational programs for schools and the wider community in which corporal punishment is still used. These programs should convey the detrimental effects of SCP and alternative discipline techniques. More awareness of the detrimental effects of SCP is needed to make the school environment a safe place for all children across the world.

Catching sight of children with internalizing symptoms in upper elementary classrooms

Teachers play a crucial role in the assessment of children's internalizing symptoms but may not always succeed in accurately identifying such symptoms in class. Using a multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) approach, this study aimed to explore teacher and child characteristics that may explain measurement bias in teachers' ratings of internalizing symptoms at the between- and within-teacher level. Upper elementary school teachers (N = 92, 74.9% female) filled out the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, Student-Teacher Relationship Scale, and Student-Specific Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale for randomly selected children (N = 690, 50.5% girls, Grades 3-6) from their classrooms. Participating teachers and children also responded to several background questions. Multilevel SEMs suggested that teachers' self-efficacy beliefs toward, relationship experiences with, and externalizing symptom ratings of individual children affected their ratings of these children's internalizing symptoms at the within-teacher level. Specifically, given equal levels of internalizing behavior, teachers were likely to systematically under-identify symptoms of anxiety and over-identify bullying for children with more externalizing behavior and conflictual relationships, or in circumstances where teachers had lower self-efficacy. Children with high levels of closeness received systematically higher ratings on somatic complaints and lower ratings on solitary behavior and peer problems. At the between-teacher level, less experienced teachers were more likely to over-identify symptoms of worries than were more experienced teachers, given equal levels of internalizing symptoms. As such, these findings extend the limited body of evidence on children's internalizing symptoms in upper elementary school.

Bidirectional Links Between Teachers' Disciplinary Practices, Students' Peer Status, and Students' Aggression in Kindergarten

This study examined bidirectional links between teachers' disciplinary practices (punitive and educational), students' peer status in class (acceptance and rejection), and students' aggressive behaviors. A sample comprising 1,038 students (mean age = 5.43 years) was assessed with the same instruments in the fall and spring of one kindergarten year. Teachers reported the disciplinary practices they used with each student in their class. Aggression, peer rejection, and peer acceptance were measured by peer sociometric nomination. Autoregressive cross-lagged modeling was used to test bidirectional associations. The results showed reciprocal links between punitive disciplinary practices, peer rejection, and students' aggressive behaviors. More specifically, punitive discipline at kindergarten start predicted greater peer rejection and higher levels of aggressive behaviors at year end. Students' aggressive behaviors and peer rejection at year start predicted greater use of punitive practice at year end. Educational discipline did not contribute to a change in students' peer status and students' aggressive behaviors.

Student-Teacher Relationships and Students' Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors: A Cross-Lagged Study in Secondary Education

The present study examined reciprocal influences between student-teacher relationship quality and students' externalizing and internalizing behaviors in secondary education. Our sample included 1,219 secondary school students (49.1% boys; Mage  = 13.53, SD = 1.77) from seventh, eighth, tenth, and eleventh grade. Students reported about their externalizing and internalizing behaviors and the quality of the relationships (closeness, conflict) with their Dutch and math teachers at three occasions within one school year. Cross-lagged path models showed positive reciprocal associations between conflict with the math teacher and externalizing behavior over time. For the Dutch teacher, externalizing behavior positively predicted conflict over time, but not the other way around. Externalizing behavior also negatively predicted closeness with both teachers over time.

Profiles of bystanders' motivation to defend school bully victims from a self-determination perspective

This study was aimed at exploring which latent profiles emerge based on ratings of self‐determined motivation to defend victims of bullying, and to explore if they are related to bystander roles and victimization in bullying, as well as student–teacher relations. Data were collected from 1,800 Swedish and Italian students, with an age range between 10 and 18 years (M = 12.6, standard deviation = 1.74). The students completed a survey in their classrooms. Latent profile analysis was used to explore the possible clusters of individuals with similar ratings on the motivational variables. Multivariate analysis of variances were conducted to explore differences between the profiles in relation to their roles when witnessing bullying and to student–teacher relationships. Four latent profiles emerged. The profiles represented respondents (a) high in prosocial motivation, (b) high in externally extrinsic motivation, (c) intermediate in externally extrinsic motivation, and (d) with identified/introjected motivation. Multivariate analyses showed that reports of bystander roles when witnessing bullying, teacher–student relationships, and bullying victimization, significantly differed over the motivational profiles. The bystanders were unevenly distributed across the four groups and most individuals were categorized in the prosocial motivation group. Female and male bystanders were evenly distributed across clusters. The prosocial motivation group experienced victimization to a lesser extent than the other profile groups. Students in the intermediate externally extrinsic group were more likely to take the pro‐bully and outsider role during bullying. Concerning student–teacher relationships, the prosocial motivation group reported the closest relationships with their teachers, while the intermediate externally extrinsic group reported the most conflictual relationships.

Current Perspectives on the Management of Reactive Attachment Disorder in Early Education

Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) have special educational needs that are challenging for teachers in early education. In the current contribution, we will discuss a large body of research suggesting that stimulating these children's attachment development is feasible for teachers and potentially a successful strategy to ensure that these children thrive better in the classroom and socially. The current overview discusses research and theory on RAD and RAD treatment and results in the formulation of specific recommendations for the successful management of children with RAD in the classroom.

Student-teacher relationship quality and prosocial behaviour: The mediating role of academic achievement and a positive attitude towards school

BACKGROUND

The current research investigated the association between teacher-student relationship (both teacher-perceived and student-perceived relationship quality) and students' prosocial behaviours, as well as the mediating roles of students' attitudes towards school and perceived academic competence in this association.

SAMPLE

Four hundred and fifty-nine Italian primary students (aged 4-9, M_age  = 7.05, SD_age  = 1.37) and 47 teachers (aged 26-60, M_age  = 48.35, SD_age  = 8.13) participated and finished all the questionnaires and scales.

METHODS

Multiple regression analyses and bootstrapping analyses were employed to test the direct and the mediating effects between the teacher/student-perceived relationship and students' prosocial behaviours.

RESULTS

Results indicated that (1) teacher-student relationship was positively associated with students' prosocial behaviour; and (2) students' attitudes towards school could significantly mediate the association between teacher/student-perceived relationship and students' prosocial behaviours.

CONCLUSIONS

Our understanding of how teacher-student relationship helps to enhance students' prosocial behaviours, as well as the intervention programmes that aim to enhance students' prosocial behaviours, may benefit from these findings.

Teacher Involvement Prevents Increases in Children's Depressive Symptoms: Bidirectional Associations in Elementary School

There is accumulating evidence that social relationships can buffer the development of depression in childhood and adolescence. However, few studies have focused on teacher-child relationships in the elementary school years. In addition, research that has examined bidirectional relations between teacher involvement and depressive symptoms is virtually absent in this age period. The participants in this study were 570 children and 30 teachers from 15 elementary schools. Data on children's depressive symptoms (peer- and teacher-reports) and teacher involvement (teacher-reports) were collected in the fall and spring of Grade 2 and Grade 3 (four waves). As expected, negative cross-time effects of teacher involvement on depressive symptoms were found within grade 2 and 3. In addition, a negative cross-time effect of depressive symptoms on teacher involvement was found in grade 3 only. The results thus indicate the protective role of teacher involvement in the development of depressive symptoms but also suggest that teachers may become less involved over time when they perceive a child as more depressed.

Understanding the origins of child-teacher dependency: mother-child attachment security and temperamental inhibition as antecedents

This study investigated the joint contribution of child-mother attachment quality and child temperamental inhibition to the development of child-teacher dependency. A sample of 237 kindergartners (M_age = 60.2 months) and their teachers from 36 classrooms participated. Preschool child-mother attachment quality was assessed using the Attachment Q-set. Behavioral inhibition was rated by the preschool teacher. Dependency was assessed at three waves during kindergarten, using observer and teacher reports. In line with assumptions from attachment theory, less securely attached children were observed to be more overly reliant on their teacher in class. For behavioral inhibition, a divergent picture emerged depending on the assessment of dependency: Classroom observations yielded less (overt) indications of dependency among more inhibited children, whereas teachers reported more (covert) expressions of dependency. These results suggest that different measures may capture different aspects of the multifaceted construct of dependency, thus calling for more conceptual and empirical work.

Dependency in teacher-child relationships: deepening our understanding of the construct

Within an attachment perspective on teacher-child relationships three affective relationship dimensions have been identified: closeness, conflict, and dependency. Whereas a lot of research is available on relational closeness and conflict, far less is known about the construct of dependency. In this paper, we aim to further the conceptualization of child-teacher dependency in several ways. First, we define dependency as a relational construct, not a stable child characteristic. Second, we review relevant research on child-parent attachment to guide hypotheses regarding antecedents and developmental consequences of dependency in child-teacher relationships. Third, we provide an overview of attachment-based research on child-teacher dependency, highlighting unanswered questions, such as how its meaning and correlates may vary depending on cultural orientation and child developmental stage. The studies in this special issue address these questions, thereby deepening our understanding of this neglected relationship dimension.

Child-teacher dependency: The state of the research

The purpose of this commentary is to situate the findings from the studies in this special issue within the broader child-teacher relationship literature, with particular focus on the complex nature of child-teacher dependency. First, I briefly describe and review each of the compelling papers in this special issue. Second, I weave the studies to each other by linking their methods and results, and by identifying similar findings from the extant literature. Third, I provide some thoughts about future directions and implications for the study of child-teacher dependency from my perspective as a researcher in this field.

The mediating role of child-teacher dependency in the association between early mother-child attachment and behavior problems in middle childhood

This study examines child-teacher dependency in preschool as a pathway through which mother-child attachment is associated with children's behavior problems across middle childhood. Data include direct assessments of attachment security and styles, teacher reports of child-teacher dependency, and maternal reports of behavior problems from the NICHD SECCYD (N = 769 children). Children with more secure attachments at 24 months were less likely to exhibit child-teacher dependency at 54 months. Children with ambivalent, controlling, or insecure/other attachments at 36 months had higher levels of child-teacher dependency at 54 months. Results from multi-level models showed that child-teacher dependency at 54 months was associated with higher levels of internalizing, but not externalizing, behavior problems across middle childhood. Child-teacher dependency partially mediated the association between insecure/other mother-child attachment and internalizing behaviors in middle childhood. Supporting preschool teachers to reduce child-teacher dependency may help ameliorate risk for internalizing behaviors posed by insecure/other attachment.

School adjustment of first-grade primary school students: Effects of family involvement, externalizing behavior, teacher and peer relations

Adjusting to school contributes to the healthy introduction of all educational activities. For this reason, it is important to determine all facilitating and debilitating factors to the school adjustment process and to develop preventive studies for overcoming school adjustment. The purpose of this study is to determine the factors affecting the school adjustment of first-grade primary school students based on an ecological approach. The study group consisted of 81 teachers and 517 parents. The data were gathered for 517 children aged between 64 months and 98 months from public schools located in the central districts of Ankara in the 2015-2016 academic year. Structural equation modeling was used in the present study. Thus, according to the School Adjustment Model, externalizing behaviors, teacher-student relationship, and peer relations have a significant direct impact on first-grade students' school adjustment, whereas family involvement has no statistically significant direct influence on first-grade students' school adjustment. In addition, externalizing behaviors affect school adjustment through the mediating role of teacher-student relationship and peer relations. Also, the total effect of the externalizing behavior variable on school adjustment is -0.55. The student-teacher relationship (B = 0.53) and peer relationship (B = 0.48) variables have also had an effect on school adjustment.

Scripted attachment representations and adaptive functioning during early childhood

Attachment theorists have characterized children's internal working models, forged from early attachment relationship histories, as the link between earlier and later manifestations of competence. In this study, working models of attachment were measured as access to and use of the secure base script (SBS) to organize children's attachment relevant narratives (N = 139). Study goals were to assess relations between SBS use and a range of adaptive functioning domains including peer social competence, teacher/child relationships, effortful control, executive function, and verbal intelligence. Simultaneous path analyses using structural equations indicated that SBS use was significantly associated with each of these outcome domains. Findings were reproduced when effects of verbal intelligence, sex and age were controlled, except for effortful control. Results suggest that children's internalized attachment representations are intertwined with adaptive functioning during early childhood.

Teacher and child perceptions of relationship quality and ethnic minority children's behavioral adjustment in upper elementary school: A cross-lagged approach

In this study, cross-lagged longitudinal modeling was used to examine associations between teacher-child relationship quality and children's behavioral adjustment in a sample of sixth grade ethnic minority children. In comparison to previous cross-lagged studies, children were older and cross-informant models were used. Both teachers (N = 12) and children (N = 226) reported on the relationship quality (Closeness, Conflict, and Dependency or Negative Expectations), and children's behavioral adjustment (Externalizing Problems, Internalizing Problems, and Prosocial Behavior) at the beginning and the end of the school year. Children's externalizing behavior at the beginning of the school year was consistently and positively associated with conflict at the end of the school year. Interestingly, dependency at time 1 was associated with children's behavioral adjustment at time 2, whereas for closeness and conflict associations were the other way around (i.e., children's behavior at time 1 was associated with teacher-child closeness and conflict at time 2). Taken together, our results seem to indicate that bidirectional associations between teacher-child relationships and behavioral adjustment apply to older, ethnic minority children as well.

Student-teacher relationships and bullying: The role of student social status

Student-teacher relationships have been shown to influence bullying-related behaviors in students. This study considered the moderating role of students' social statuses in the classroom. The study sample included 435 students (48.7% females) taken from 18 Italian middle-school classrooms (i.e., sixth to eighth grade). A multigroup path analysis approach was employed to examine whether the effects of the student-teacher relationships on bullying-related behaviors differed among social statuses. The results showed that perceived conflict with the teacher was shown to have a significant positive effect on students' engagement in active bullying for students from all the statuses, except for neglected students. In particular, this effect was more relevant for rejected students. The results showed that social status and student-teacher relationships integrate and shed light on which roles are taken by young adolescents in school bullying, highlighting that it is important for the teachers to recognize these students.

Can teacher-child relationships alter the effects of early socioeconomic status on achievement in middle childhood?

Using data from the NICHD SECCYD (N=1053), we used two-level hierarchical linear models with site fixed effects to examine whether teacher-child closeness and conflict moderated associations between two indicators of early socioeconomic status (maternal education and family income) and standardized measures of children's math and reading achievement at 54months, 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades. Children whose mothers had lower levels of education and conflictual relationships with teachers exhibited lower reading achievement, on average, across elementary school. At the same time, children with less educated mothers who experienced increases in teacher-child closeness and decreases in teacher-child conflict exhibited improvements in reading achievement across elementary school. Finally, low teacher-child closeness elevated the risk for poor math achievement posed by low family income. Implications for intervention design and development are discussed.

Early adolescents' motivations to defend victims in school bullying and their perceptions of student-teacher relationships: A self-determination theory approach

The aim of this study was to investigate whether various dimensions of student-teacher relationships were associated with different types of motivation to defend victims in bullying and to determine the association between these types of motivations and various bystander behaviors in bullying situations among early adolescents in Italy. Data were collected from 405 Italian adolescents who completed a survey in their classroom. Results showed that warm student-teacher relationships were positively associated with defending victims and with autonomous motivation to defend victims. In contrast, conflictual student-teacher relationships were positively associated with passive bystanding and with extrinsic motivation to defend victims. Different forms of motivation to defend were found to be mediators between student-teacher relationship qualities and bystander behaviors in school bullying. Our findings suggest that teachers should build warm and caring student-teacher relationships to enhance students' autonomous motivation to defend victims of bullying as well as their inclination to defend the victims in practice.

Affective Teacher-Student Relationships and Students' Externalizing Behavior Problems: A Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis of 57 primary studies with 73,933 students shows strong links between affective teacher-student relationships (TSRs) and students' externalizing behavior problems (EBPs). Moreover, students' culture, age, gender, and the report types of EBPs moderated these effects. The negative correlation between positive indicators of affective TSRs and students' EBPs was stronger (a) among Western students than Eastern ones, (b) for students in the lower grades of primary school than for other students, (c) when rated by teachers or parents than by students or peers, and (d) among females than among males. In contrast, the positive correlation between negative indicators of affective TSRs and students' EBPs was stronger (a) among Eastern students than Western ones, (b) for students in the higher grades of primary school than for other students, and

Bidirectional Associations Between Teacher-Child Relationship Quality and Chinese American Immigrant Children's Behavior Problems

The goal of the study was to test the bidirectional associations between teacher-child relationship quality and behavior problems in an elementary school age sample of Chinese American immigrant children. A socioeconomically diverse sample (N = 258) of first- and second-generation Chinese American children (M ages = 7.4 and 9.2 years at Wave 1 and Wave 2, respectively; 48% girls) was recruited from schools and communities and followed for 1 to 2 years. Two waves of data on dimensions of teacher-child relationship quality (i.e., warmth, closeness, and conflict) and children's externalizing and internalizing problems were collected through parents', teachers', and children's report. Path analyses were conducted to test the bidirectional associations between teacher-child relationship quality and behavior problems, controlling for prior levels, child demographic characteristics, and teacher ethnicity. Transactional associations between teacher-child relationship quality and children's behavior problems were found for externalizing problems. That is, teacher-rated externalizing problems negatively predicted child-rated closeness, and teacher-rated conflict positively predicted parent-rated externalizing problems. On the other hand, teacher-child relationship quality did not predict subsequent internalizing problems. However, parent-rated internalizing problems negatively predicted teacher-rated warmth, and teacher-rated internalizing problems negatively predicted teacher-rated conflict. Using a multiple informant approach and a diverse sample of Chinese American immigrant children, this study extends our knowledge of the reciprocal associations between teacher-child relationship quality and children's behavior problems. Based on the results of this study, the authors provide recommendations for educators and future research with this understudied population.

A Non-bipartite Propensity Score Analysis of the Effects of Teacher-Student Relationships on Adolescent Problem and Prosocial Behavior

Previous research suggests a link between the quality of teacher-student relationships and the students' behavioral outcomes; however, the observational nature of past studies makes it difficult to attribute a causal role to the quality of these relationships. In the current study, therefore, we used a propensity score analysis approach to evaluate whether students who were matched on their propensity to experience a given level of relationship quality but differed on their actual relationship quality diverged on their concurrent and subsequent problem and prosocial behavior. Student/self, teacher, and parent- (only waves 1-3) reported data from 8 waves of the Zurich Project on the Social Development of Children and Youths (z-proso), a longitudinal study of Swiss youth among a culturally diverse sample of 7- to 15-year-olds were utilized. The initial sample included 1483 (49.4 % female) students for whom information relevant for this study was available. The sample represented families from around 80 different countries, from across all the continents; with approximately 42 % of the female primary caregivers having been born in Switzerland. Following successful matching, we found that students who reported better relationships with their teachers and whose teachers reported better relationships with them evidenced fewer problem behaviors concurrently and up to 4 years later. There was also evidence for an analogous effect in predicting prosocial behavior. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to prevention and intervention practices.