Exposure to violence among children and adolescents has been linked to negative outcomes including posttraumatic stress disorder, externalizing problems, low academic achievement, and impaired social-emotional adjustment. Aggressive behaviors specifically are shown to be strongly predicted by both direct and indirect violence exposure. Aggressive behaviors have consequences on later adjustment, making the identification of protective factors imperative to bolster support for children whose environments are affected by violence. The current study examined the effect of neighborhood violence on overt aggression as well as the potential of school climate variables to buffer the impact of violence on students’ aggressive behaviors. It was hypothesized that higher rates of neighborhood violence in the year preceding the study would predict higher levels of aggressive behaviors reported by teachers and students. It was further hypothesized that student perceptions of school safety, teacher-student relationships, and academic engagement would moderate this relationship, such that the relationship between neighborhood violence and aggressive behaviors would be lower in the context of positive school climate indicators than in the context of negative school climate indictors. Results did not support either hypothesis. However, results suggested that teacher-student relationships may reduce aggressive behaviors over time, which provides promising evidence that can inform teacher efforts and schoolwide opportunities to mitigate negative outcomes for their students.
