title: A Non-bipartite Propensity Score Analysis of the Effects of Teacher-Student Relationships on Adolescent Problem and Prosocial Behavior.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Sidgwick Site, Cambridge, CB3 9DA, UK. io229@cam.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Obsuth
authors.affiliation: Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Sidgwick Site, Cambridge, CB3 9DA, UK.
authors.forename: Aja Louise
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George Street, 4th Floor, Sidney Smith Hall, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G3, Canada.
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Malti
authors.affiliation: , Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sulger
authors.affiliation: Crime Research Unit, Department of Sociology, Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Clausiusstrasse 59, RZ E 2, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ribeaud
authors.affiliation: Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Sidgwick Site, Cambridge, CB3 9DA, UK.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eisner
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D057216:Propensity Score; D000070777:School Teachers; D012919:Social Behavior; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D013557:Switzerland
keywords: Longitudinal design; Non-bipartite matching; Problem behavior; Prosocial behavior; Teacher–student relationship