NCJ Number
251834
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 45 Issue: 11 Dated: November 2016 Pages: 2246-2259
Date Published
November 2016
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Since many adolescents engage in risk behaviors, such as substance use and aggression, that jeopardize their healthy development, this study tested the hypothesis that an authoritative school climate characterized by strict but fair discipline and supportive teacher-student relationships is conducive to lower risk behavior for high school students.
Abstract
The study found that schools with an authoritative school climate had lower levels of student-reported alcohol and marijuana use; bullying, fighting, and weapon carrying at school; interest in gang membership; and suicidal thoughts and behavior. These results controlled for demographic variables of student gender, race, grade, and parent education level, as well as school size, percentage of minority students, and percentage of low-income students. Overall, these findings add new evidence that an authoritative school climate is associated with positive student outcomes. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to analyze cross-sectional, student-report survey data from a statewide sample of 47,888 students (50.6 percent female) in 319 high schools. The students included grades ninth (26.6 percent), tenth (25.5 percent ), eleventh (24.1 percent) and twelfth (23.8 percent), with a racial/ethnic breakdown of 52.2 percent White, 18.0 percent Black, 13.1 percent Hispanic, 5.9 percent Asian, and 10.8 percent reporting another or two or more race/ethnicities. (Publisher abstract modified)