ERIC Number: EJ1466207
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1063-4266
EISSN: EISSN-1538-4799
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Teacher Responsiveness and Instruction for Verbal Aggression Victimization: Survey Results of Secondary Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders
Daniel V. Poling1; Stephen W. Smith2; Jia Ma2; Yuxi Qiu3
Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, v33 n1 p54-64 2025
Students identified with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs) often have difficulty with social adjustment and academic achievement, engaging in problem behaviors such as defiance, rule-breaking, and truancy, yet one particularly challenging behavior is aggression. Researchers assert that verbal aggression (VA) is the most frequent form of aggression in schools; however, little is known about student perceptions of VA among students with EBD. We surveyed 144 U.S. secondary students with EBD finding infrequent reporting to teachers about VA victimization. According to students, the most effective teacher responses to a report of VA victimization were moving the victim away from the perpetrator, providing advice, and punishing the aggressor. Students reported that the content of teacher instruction about VA most often included reporting victimization to a teacher, avoiding the aggressor, and ignoring the verbally aggressive behavior. We discuss implications for teacher education and practice including what strategies deter VA and effective teacher responses to victimization. We conclude with recommendations for future research such as examining risk and protective factors for VA involvement, assessing whether students' attitudes and beliefs contribute to VA, and conducting longitudinal studies.
Descriptors: Secondary School Teachers, Teacher Response, Aggression, Students with Disabilities, Behavior Disorders, Emotional Disturbances, Secondary School Students, Victims, Student Attitudes, Instruction
SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA; 2University of Florida, Gainesville, USA; 3Florida International University, Miami, USA