Social development, peer relationships and mental health
Across many developed nations, governments are highlighting the importance of schools focusing on students’ interpersonal skills and the quality of peer relationships (Education Council, 2019; European Parliament Council of the European Union, 2006; Learning Policy Institute, 2018; Ministry of Education Singapore, 2019). For over twenty years Australian schools have been required to embed evidence-based interventions in their curriculum to build students’ interpersonal skills (Cross et al., 2011). Two compelling arguments have informed this educational direction.
First, it is asserted that students will learn to the best of their ability when a teacher-student relationship is built on engagement, modelling of prosocial behaviours, respect, support and care (Shriver & Buffett, 1997). Studies have demonstrated that students who feel supported and understood by their teachers and who engage positively with their teachers are more motivated to learn (Al Dhafri & AL-Hadabi, 2015; Bainbridge Frymier & Houser, 2000). A supportive student-teacher relationship is associated with fewer behavioural issues, increased feelings of connectedness to their school community, and achievement of higher academic outcomes (Fredriksen & Rhodes, 2004; McNeely, 2003; Sanchez et al., 2008). This argument posits that learning of interpersonal skills at school is essential to support the teacher-learner relationship, a key driver optimising student learning outcomes.
The second argument for social skills learning in schools comes from a large body of evidence that a child’s interpersonal skills impact their peer relationships, and this shapes their educational outcomes and mental health long into their future (Dodge, et al., 2008; Durlak et al., 2011; O’Conner et al., 2017). These associations are unsurprising given the many hours that children spend at school each week, alongside their peers during learning, and in play.
Interpersonal Skills, Peer Relationships and Mental Health
Studies report that students who persistently report challenges during social interactions are also more likely to experience active peer rejection, lower self-esteem, poorer academic outcomes, disconnectedness from school, and are at higher risk of delinquent behaviours (Dodge et al., 2006; Lansford et al., 2010). In a study with middle-primary school age children, social challenges, specifically maladaptive anger regulation was found to be associated with peer problems (Rohlf et al., 2017). Without intervention, students with maladaptive anger regulation at school are also more likely to experience challenges in adolescence and adulthood. These include higher rates of interpersonal violence, criminality and psychopathology (Bayer, 1996; Bor et al., 2004, Tremblay et al., 2004). This association between maladaptive anger regulation at school, poor peer relationships, and their future impact, points to the role of schools in teaching students’ skills and strategies to reduce maladaptive anger regulation behaviours and improve their peer relationships.
Importantly, bullying behaviours at school also impact the perpetrator and the recipient or victim of the behaviour, further highlighting the importance of school-based teaching of respectful peer relation skills. When maladaptive behaviours are repeated towards a target person, it is defined as bullying (Ford et al., 2017). Bullying can take the form of repeated physical or verbal aggression, on-going psychological abuse, or persistent relational aggression (damaging a target person’s relationships and social standing). The Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (CAH MCRI) (2018) reported that one in five Australian children have been victim to bullying. Most often, Australian studies are reporting figures closer to one in four with implications that being a victim of bullying is damaging to the young person’s education and mental wellbeing (Cross et al., 2009; Forero et al., 1999; Thompson et al., 2015). As an example of the educational impact of bullying, the CAH MCRI (2018) study reported that Australian students bullied for two or three years were 10 months behind their peers in numeracy by the time they reached Year 7.
The impact of bullying on a young person’s mental health was clearly illustrated in an Australian study with participants’ in Year 7 to Year 9 (Skrzypiec et al., 2012). Participants’ mental health status was established using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) self-report form (Goodman, 1997). This measure identified participants’ as functioning within the normal, borderline, or abnormal range of mental health strengths and difficulties. The Peer Relations Questionnaire (PRQ) (Slee & Rigby, 1993) was used to measure students’ tendency to engage in bullying behaviour, tendency to be victimised, and prosocial behaviours. Results indicated that participants identified as prosocial on the PRQ were also scoring in the normal range for mental health strengths and difficulties on the SDQ. In contrast, participants who were victims of bullying, or who were both victims and perpetrators of bullying were most likely to score within the abnormal range of mental health functioning on the SDQ.
Relational aggression is the form of bullying behaviour most commonly experienced between girls (Crick, 1995; Galen & Underwood, 1997; Leff, et al., 2010a; Murray-Close et al., 2007; Waasdorp et al., 2010). While relational aggression does occur among boys, it is the predominant form of aggressive behaviour reported to occur between girls. Relational aggression is defined by its intention to hurt a target person by damaging their relationships or reputation (Crick, 1995). Relational aggression might take the form of exclusion, generating gossip, or spreading of rumours. These behaviours have been reported to occur as early as pre-school (Crick et al., 1999), peaking from 7 to 16 years of age, and continuing between women during adulthood (Archer, 2004). A recent Australian longitudinal study confirmed that 67.1% of all adolescent girls surveyed reported experiences of relational aggression (Ford et al., 2017). In comparison, only 20.8% of girls surveyed had experienced physical aggression.
A meta-analysis of 148 child and adolescent studies reported that relational aggression was significantly correlated to internalising problems such as anxiety and depression (Card et al., 2008). When experienced in adulthood, women are at higher risk of depression, anxiety, stress, anger and eating disorders (Dehlen et al., 2013; Crick & Werner, 1998). The ongoing nature of this behaviour suggests that relational aggression is not a childhood behaviour that will be outgrown without some form of intervention. Research regarding overt aggression, the form of maladaptive behaviour most commonly reported amongst boys is comprehensive. However, the impact of relational aggression for girls, its causes, and pathways are less well known (Crick, 2006; Moretti et al., 2005; Zimmer-Gembeck & Pronk, 2012). Lack of information on these issues has been attributed to the historical factor that the maladaptive behaviours of overt physical and verbal aggression are relatively easy to examine, overshadowing the covert behaviours which make up relational aggression (Crick et al., 2006).
In summary, children spend most of their days at school engaging in relationships with both teachers and peers. The nature of these relationships has considerable impact on a child’s subsequent schooling experiences and future outcomes. Children who consistently present with maladaptive behaviours are more likely to damage their relationships with peers. This negatively impacts their self-esteem, connectedness to school and academic outcomes, and places them at-risk in their adolescence and adulthood. Children subject to bullying behaviour, that is, the targets of maladaptive behaviour, are also at risk of educational and mental health decline. For girls, maladaptive behaviours most often take the form of relational aggression which has been associated with a range of mental health issues. Evidence suggests that these behaviours continue to occur into adulthood (Dehlen et al., 2013). Taken together, this evidence presents a strong argument for the inclusion of programs addressing peer relational skills in schools.
