| The association between peer harassment and academic achievement was examined in relation to individual, parent and teacher factors. The sample consisted of 4,293 adolescents aged 12-15 years drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), which is a national stratified sample of households across all provinces in Canada. To analyze the data, numerous variables in the NLSCY were correlated with harassment and achievement. Gender comparisons using analyses of variance showed that male and female students experience similar rates of harassment. In addition, achievement levels were found to be similar for male and female students in the areas of Language Arts and Math.; Latent constructs were derived from measured variables and a latent variable path analysis was conducted to test the model of harassment and achievement. Results showed that the data fit the model well: chi2 (63) = 1196.72, p < .001 with a residual error of .03, and comparative fit index of .92. These results suggest that adolescents who are harassed by their peers are at risk for experiencing poor school achievement if they exhibit disruptive behavior problems, as well as have parents who provide little nurturance and show rejection, and whose teachers provide little support. Limitations of the current study and directions for future research are discussed. Finally, this paper concludes with an overview of the implications of the findings for school psychologists. |
