Bullying amongst children has taken a toll in many of our households and, as parents, there is only so much we can do to protect our own children against being the target of aggression at school. According to a recent study in Canada, teachers may actually affect the likelihood of a child being a bully or being bullied at school. The study concluded that children with good relationships with their teachers are typically less likely to show signs of aggression and are also less likely to be the target of aggression at school.

“Children’s relationships with teachers and with peers in school play a critical role in shaping their social-behavioral development,” noted leader of the study – Mara Brendger, a professor of psychology at the University of Quebec at Montreal. “Our study found that a good relationship with the teacher can protect genetically vulnerable children from being aggressive, and, in consequence, from becoming the target of other children’s aggressive behavior.”

This connection demonstrates that even if another child in the school is genetically vulnerable to being aggressive, a positive relationship with the teacher can drastically effect the classroom dynamics. These findings may be useful for interventions on children’s aggression, and may be useful in teacher-training efforts.

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