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The impact of classroom aggression on the development of aggressive behavior problems in children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2006

DUANE E. THOMAS  and
KAREN L. BIERMAN
DUANE E. THOMAS
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
KAREN L. BIERMAN
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
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Abstract

Prior research suggests that exposure to elementary classrooms characterized by high levels of student aggression may contribute to the development of child aggressive behavior problems. To explore this process in more detail, this study followed a longitudinal sample of 4,907 children and examined demographic factors associated with exposure to high-aggression classrooms, including school context factors (school size, student poverty levels, and rural vs. urban location) and child ethnicity (African American, European American). The developmental impact of different temporal patterns of exposure (e.g., primacy, recency, chronicity) to high-aggression classrooms was evaluated on child aggression. Analyses revealed that African American children attending large, urban schools that served socioeconomically disadvantaged students were more likely than other students to be exposed to high-aggressive classroom contexts. Hierarchical regressions demonstrated cumulative effects for temporal exposure, whereby children with multiple years of exposure showed higher levels of aggressive behavior after 3 years than children with primacy, less recent, and less chronic exposure, controlling for initial levels of aggression. Implications are discussed for developmental research and preventive interventions.Members of the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group include Karen L. Bierman, Pennsylvania State University; John D. Coie, Duke University; Kenneth A. Dodge, Duke University; E. Michael Foster, Pennsylvania State University; Mark T. Greenberg, Pennsylvania State University; John E. Lochman, University of Alabama; Robert J. McMahon, University of Washington; and Ellen E. Pinderhughes, Tufts University. This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health Grants R18MH48083, R18MH50951, R18MH50952, and R18MH50953. The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Department of Education, and the National Institute for Drug Abuse also provided support for FAST Track through a memorandum of support with the NIMH. Support has also come from the Department of Education grant S184430002, NIMH Grants K05MH00797 and K05MH01027, and a research grant from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation. Appreciation is expressed to the parents, teachers, students, and school district personnel who supported this research in the Durham, NC, Nashville, TN, central Pennsylvania, and Seattle, WA areas. The first author thanks Drs. Nicholas Ialongo and Shani Harris-Peterson, Johns Hopkins University, for their input on earlier drafts of this manuscript, as well as Drs. Chi-Ming Kam and Brenda Heinrichs, Pennsylvania State University, and Dr. Sharon Smith, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, for their statistical consultation with this project.

Type
REGULAR ARTICLE
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , June 2006 , pp. 471 - 487
Copyright
2006 Cambridge University Press

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