Teens ‘less aggressive’ if they had good teacher at 10

CHILDREN who have a good relationship with their primary school teacher are less aggressive teenagers, research suggests.

A supportive teacher when pupils are aged ten to 11 helps to prevent violence or delinquency up to seven years later, experts found.

A team at Edinburgh University examined the experiences of

‘Supported and understood’

1,483 young people who had a change of teacher between the ages of nine and ten.

They identified pairs of young people with similar backgrounds and influences, but with one youngster who had a relatively better relationship with their teacher than their counterpart.

Each pair’s levels of delinquency and violence were compared at the ages of 13, 15 and 17.

Researchers found those with a better quality of teacher-student relationships reported fewer delinquent acts up to age 17. They also reported being less aggressive and violent at 17.

The findings were consistent, despite factors such as different types of parenting, mental health issues and aggressive behaviour before the change of teacher.

Dr Ingrid Obsuth, of the university’s School of Health in Social Science, said: ‘We were able to provide some of the strongest evidence to date for a link between the quality of teacherstudent relationships and later delinquency and violence.

‘Perceiving the relationship in a positive way and feeling supported and understood by the teacher has the power to protect young people from engaging in rule-breaking behaviours such as delinquency and violence.’

Data was taken from an ongoing study, Social Development from Childhood to Adulthood, begun in 2004 and led by the University of Zurich.