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The Interface of School Climate and School Connectedness and Relationships with Aggression and Victimization
Author(s) -
Wilson Dorian
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2004.tb08286.x
Subject(s) - social connectedness , aggression , psychology , citation , library science , social psychology , computer science
This paper examines how school connectedness and school climate work together to influence students, and whether the relationship between connectedness and climate reveal information about the interaction of social context and the individual. School connectedness generally includes the sense of attachment and commitment a student feels as a result of perceived caring from teachers and peers. School attachment is often one of several indices included when measuring school climate. Further, comparisons of research on climate and connectedness reveal coinciding external associations and dimensions of school climate highly correlated with connectedness. This paper summarizes analyses of data from the Safe Communities-Safe Schools initiative, comparing effects of connectedness and climate on measures of aggression and victimization. Analysis of the results of this study demonstrated that even a positive school climate does not always reduce the likelihood of perpetration of aggression and victimization. Likewise, a negative school climate does not necessarily increase that risk. Despite variations in climate, the amount of connectedness experienced by the average student appears to consistently contribute to predicting his likelihood of aggression and victimization. Language: en