Teacher–child relationship, child withdrawal and aggression in the development of peer victimization

a r t i c l e i n f o The study examined pre-kindergarten teacher–child relationship as a predictor of peer victimization up to first grade, assessed whether this role moderated risks from children's social withdrawal and/or aggression. Participants were 377 Australian children from 12 schools. Parent ratings of victimization in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade were used, as well as prekindergarten self-ratings of parenting. Teacher-ratings of conflict and closeness, child aggression and social withdrawal were collected in pre-kindergarten. Two-part growth curve analyses conjointly modeled the likelihood of being victimized and severity of victimization. Teacher– child conflict in prekindergarten predicted the likelihood of concurrent and first grade victimization; closeness in prekindergarten was protective of more severe victimization over time. Conflict also moderated the relationship between social withdrawal and growth in severity of victimization. Discussion focuses on elucidating the 'in-visible hand' of the teacher in peer dynamics, and on interventions for reducing conflict and promoting closeness in the classroom. Children entering primary school are immersed in a novel context involving new figures of authority and a new peer group. Most children adapt well to this new setting (Quinn & Hennessy, 2010), but this new social sphere is not always benign. Some children are victimized by their peers, posing risks for children's adjustment, including peer rejec-emphasize that neither child behavior nor social contexts alone are adequate to account for children's developmental outcomes, but that an analysis of specific behaviors in particular contexts is required. For peer victimization, children's own behavior may serve to partly determine whether or not they are targets. Indeed, research has addressed aspects of the child's social behavior that can influence peer status, with social withdrawal (e.g., Gazelle & Ladd, 2003) and physical aggression (e.g., Barker et al., 2008) particularly important in understanding the development of victimization. But these behaviors may be of greater or lesser risk depending on the social context in which they are experienced. A small body of research has examined how teacher–child (T–C) relationship quality might serve as a risk for peer victimization; another small body of research has examined T–C relationship and/or classroom climate as a moderator of children's behavioral risk (e. But to date, no longitudinal studies examined whether teacher–child relationship quality moderates children's be-havioral risk over time to predict children's risk of peer victimization. On average, peer victimization increases over the early years (Barker et al., 2008) and appears to stabilize …