Extreme Physical Punishment by Teachers and its Associations with Aggression and Victimization at School: A Study among Young Adolescents in Iran

Abstract

Objectives:Physical punishment by teachers is accepted in Iranian schools, but it may at times take extreme forms, such as teachers burning the hands of pupils, or even breaking their bones. The study aims at investigating how frequently such punishments occur, and their relationship to perpetration of and victimization to peer aggression at school. Methods:Data from 1244 young adolescents (649 boys, 595 girls; M age=12.7 yrs, SD=2.1 yrs) was collected in two cities, Mashhad and Eylam, in both public and private schools (totaling 24 schools) in Iran. Whether the pupils reported having been exposed to extreme forms of physical punishment (EPP) by teachers, such as burning of hands, and breaking of bones, was investigated and served as independent variables in MANOVAs with various types of aggression and victimization in school settings as dependent variables.Results: Participants who had had their hands burnt (3.8% of respondents), and bones broken (4.8%) as punishment scored significantly higher on both perpetration of and victimization to almost all types of aggressive behavior at school. Notably, EPP by teachers had strong associations with the most severe forms of school aggression measured in the study, i.e. threatening (and, respectively, being threatened by) another pupil with a knife or a chain. EPP by teachers also was associated with EPP occurring at home. Conclusion:Results indicate that EPP by teachers does indeed occur in Iran, in this sample it had been experienced by about 1/20 of respondents, and it was associated with both perpetration of and victimization to aggressive behaviors (in particular its harshest forms) in school settings.

The Relationship between Physical Punishment at Home and Victimization from Peer Aggression at School in Adolescents in Iran and Finland: A Mediator‒Moderator Analysis

“…According to one study, 43% of pupils reported having been physically punished at school (Sheikattari, Stephenson, Assaisi, Eftekhar, & Zamani, 2006). Jaghoory, Björkqvist, and Österman (2015) found that even quite harsh methods of PP at school still occurred in Iran at the time of the study, although exceptionally: 3.8% of the adolescents participating in their study (N = 1,244) had had their hands burnt, and 4.8% reported having had bones broken as a punishment at school. Björkqvist, Österman, and Berg (2011) found that experiences of PP at home were much more frequent (in 39.5% of cases) among victims of school bullying than among non-victims (16.8% of cases).…”

Sohanjana Antibullying Intervention: Culturally and Socially Targeted Intervention for Teachers in Pakistan to Take Actions Against Bullying

“…✓ No matter the context, the age, or the type of aggression, there was an inverse relationship between emotional intelligence and aggressive behavior (García-Sancho et al, 2014;Siddiqui et al, 2022). ✓ There has been strong evidence to suggest that frustration is one of the driving forces behind perversion (Jaghoory, 2018;Tam & Taki, 2007;Vranjes et al, 2021). ✓ Teaching stress management and problem-solving skills can be helpful in combating antisocial behaviors (Kang et al, 2019;Maryam & Ijaz, 2019;Méndez et al, 2019) ✓ Educators believe that the severity of sanctions for bullying behavior serves as an effective deterrent (Roberge, 2012).…”