title: School climate and bullying victimization: a latent class growth model analysis.
abstract: Researchers investigating school-level approaches for bullying prevention are beginning to discuss and target school climate as a construct that (a) may predict prevalence and (b) be an avenue for school-wide intervention efforts (i.e., increasing positive school climate). Although promising, research has not fully examined and established the social-ecological link between school climate factors and bullying/peer aggression. To address this gap, we examined the association between school climate factors and bullying victimization for 4,742 students in Grades 3-12 across 3 school years in a large, very diverse urban school district using latent class growth modeling. Across 3 different models (elementary, secondary, and transition to middle school), a 3-class model was identified, which included students at high-risk for bullying victimization. Results indicated that, for all students, respect for diversity and student differences (e.g., racial diversity) predicted within-class decreases in reports of bullying. High-risk elementary students reported that adult support in school was a significant predictor of within-class reduction of bullying, and high-risk secondary students report peer support as a significant predictor of within-class reduction of bullying.
authors.affiliation: School of Special Education, School Psychology, & Early Childhood Studies, College of Education, University of Florida.
authors.forename: Nicholas A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Gage
authors.affiliation: School of Special Education, School Psychology, & Early Childhood Studies, College of Education, University of Florida.
authors.forename: Debra A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Prykanowski
authors.affiliation: Meriden Public Schools.
authors.forename: Alvin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Larson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D058445:Bullying / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D015995:Prevalence; D012574:Schools; D012931:Social Environment; D012944:Social Support; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires