High School Teacher Bullying and Student Risk Behavior

Although the harmful outcomes of peer bullying are well-established, the effects of bullying by teachers are less understood. Teacher bullying occurs when a teacher uses their authority to punish or disparage a student beyond appropriate discipline. This study investigated the prevalence of teacher bullying and its relationship with student risk-taking behaviors in a sample of 106,865 high school students who completed a statewide school climate survey. Students were classified into four groups: no bullying (91%), only peer bullying (4%), only teacher bullying (4%), and both peer and teacher bullying (2%). Logistic regression results indicated that all victimization groups were more likely to participate in risk behaviors (substance use, weapon carrying, fighting, suicidal ideation, and attempts) than nonbullied peers, and students bullied by both peers and teachers were at greatest jeopardy of participation. These results support greater attention to teacher bullying in antibullying efforts.