Teacher Reports of Verbal Aggression in School Settings Among Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Abstract

Aggression among children and adolescents can be a highly stable behavior and serves as a significant predictor for later aggression and a variety of other undesirable outcomes for both the aggressor and victim including, but not limited to, low self-worth, poor academic performance, and hopelessness (Hanley & Gibb, 2011; Rueger & Jenkins, 2014). Aggression by students against peers and adults in school environments is not just an issue about instances of injury by physical force but also include acts of aggression that are verbal (Dupper & Meyer-Adams, 2004; Wang, Iannotti, & Luk, 2012). Prolonged teasing and other forms of verbal aggression (VA) are now being examined as potentially dangerous social acts (e.g.,

Verbal Aggression Among Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Teacher Perceptions of Harm, Levels of Concern, and Relationship With Certification Status

“…Specifically, these researchers found that among students with EBD, 71% of the teachers reported daily observance of student-to-student VA and 57.3% indicated daily student-to-adult VA. In the same study, Taylor and Smith (2019) found that 64% of the teachers who served students with EBD reported that their students were more verbally aggressive than their typical peers and that their students responded to acts of VA primarily with retaliatory acts of verbal or physical aggression. Moreover, these researchers found that a majority of teachers described students frequently reporting, complaining, or seeking advice about issues related to VA, and they reported that VA takes place in multiple locations, with at least one bystander present, and they observed victim verbal retaliation and physical assaults because of VA. Interestingly, Taylor and Smith (2019) found that teacher responses included redirection and verbal warnings, and few teachers reported instruction of alternative prosocial behaviors.…”

“…Numerous sources estimate that between 2% and 7% of the school population in the United States exhibit significant, long-term emotional or behavioral problems that often involve strong negative emotions and aggression that interfere with academic and social learning (Forness, Kim, & Walker, 2012; Kauffman & Landrum, 2017). Students who receive special education (SE) services for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) often display high rates of externalizing (e.g., chronic noncompliance, verbal and physical aggression) and internalizing (e.g., anxiety and depression) behavior problems and they constitute a significant percentage of students isolated from the mainstream of education (Kauffman & Landrum, 2017; Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Office of Special Education Programs, 2017; Taylor & Smith, 2019). According to C.…”

“…Acts of physical aggression generally attract the most concern and reaction from school staff; however, verbal aggression (VA) is now considered a pervasive, harmful, and unnecessary social act that is an often-overlooked contributor to undesired outcomes for students with significant behavior problems (e.g., Atkin, Smith, Roberto, Fediuk, & Wagner, 2002; Morrow, Hubbard, Barhight, & Thomson, 2014; Poling, Smith, Taylor, & Worth, 2019; Taylor & Smith, 2019). Defined as behavior that attacks a person’s self-concept to cause psychological pain (Infante, 1995) including attacks on character, competence, background, and physical appearance, as well as episodes of teasing and ridicule (Bradshaw, Waasdorp, & Johnson, 2015; Infante, 1987; Taylor & Smith, 2019), VA significantly predicts physical aggression among children and adolescents (Cole et al, 2014; Roberto & Wilson, 1996). In fact, Atkin et al (2002) reported a strong correlation between the frequencies of reporting VA and committing physical aggression and a strong relationship, r (2,108) = .55, p < .001, between being victimized by VA and subsequent physical aggression.…”

“…As an increasing number of researchers recognize the high levels of VA among the general school population (e.g., Goldweber, Waasdorp, & Bradshaw, 2013; Poling et al, 2019; Wang, Iannotti, & Nansel, 2009), there is emerging research indicating that the prevalence of VA among students with EBD is substantial and they perpetrate and experience higher levels of VA than their nondisabled peers (Taylor & Smith, 2019). Specifically, these researchers found that among students with EBD, 71% of the teachers reported daily observance of student-to-student VA and 57.3% indicated daily student-to-adult VA.…”

“…To pursue further information about VA and students who exhibit VA, Taylor and Smith (2019) suggested a need to understand better teachers’ perceptions about (a) the harmfulness of types of VA victimization, (b) students’ intent to harm when engaged in VA, and (c) levels of concern about VA among students. According to Hektner and Swenson (2012), a significant relationship exists between teachers’ beliefs and their tendency to intervene in instances of student on student aggression.…”