Gender-role Identity As Moderators Between Class Environment And Aggressive Behaviors Among Children

Objective: School violence is one of the most important public health problem worldwide.The presence of aggressive behavior is the most important feature of school violence,and school violence is also an aggressive behavior in nature.Research has suggested that gender-role identity and class environment are important factors influencing children’s aggressive behavior.This study aimed to conduct a systematic study on the association between aggressive behavior,gender-role identity and class environment,and investigated the role of gender-role identity in the impact of class environment on aggressive behavior.Methods: This cross-sectional survey carried out from January to February 2019 and used stratified sampling method.Three primary schools and three middle schools were randomly selected from the public schools in Shenyang City,and a total of 2788 students(grade 4-9)were selected as the research objects.Questionnaire survey was conducted on the subjects using 12-item aggression questionnaire(12-AQ),the 12-item Bem Sex-Role Inventory(BSRI-12),My Class Inventory Questionnaire(MCI)and the general situation questionnaire.The obtained data were analyzed and processed by SPSS20.0,and the independent sample t-test,correlation analysis,multiple linear regression and PROCESS macro were used for statistical analysis.Results: 1.There were statistically significant differences in children’s aggression by sex,school,family type,only children and left-behind children;statistically significant differences in gender-role identity by sex,school and family SES;and statistically significant differences in classroom environment by sex,school,family type,family SES and left-behind children.2.Gender-role identity also had a significant direct effect on aggressive behavior(△R~2=0.01、0.02、0.03、0.01,P<0.05);the class environment perceived by children had a significant direct effect on aggressive behavior(△R~2=0.06、0.04、0.03、0.13、0.09,P<0.05).3.Androgyny and masculine had stronger moderating effects.In Among the whole sample,boys and girls,the moderating role of gender-role identity in the impact of learning burden on aggressive behavior was more obvious [B(95%CI):-0.05(-0.09～-0.01)、-0.07(-0.12～-0.02)、0.10(0.02～0.18)].Conclusion: In a positive class environment,the less aggressive the students are.The more comfortable and warmer class environment can be established by lessening learning burden,building a good teacher-student relationship and classmate relationship,improving class order and discipline.At the same time,what cannot be ignored is that students’ gender-role identify.Androgyny is the most beneficial,while masculine is even more unfavorable.Schools and teachers should correctly guide the development of students’ gender-role identity,so that students can understand different advantages of boys and girls,improve positive mental health,so as to achieve the purpose of reducing the aggressiveness of students.