Exploring the Influence School Climate on the Relationship between School Violence and Adolescent Subjective Well-Being

Abstract

School climate plays a key, protecting role against adverse outcomes when young individuals face peer victimization. Here we examined the potential relationships among adolescent’s wellbeing, school violence, and school climate in a sample of 2006 Chilean students (48% female) aged 10–21 (M = 14.97, SD = 1.86) from 20 schools located in the same school department. Participants completed a self-report questionnaire assessing wellbeing, school violence, and school climate. Using multilevel (Hierarchical Linear Modeling; HLM) methods we found that positive interpersonal relationships (an indicator of school climate) were significantly associated to wellbeing at schools (γ01 = .24, p < .01). School bonding was also associated to peer victimization and wellbeing (γ90 = .14, p < .10). Our results highlight the importance of improving school related factors in order to achieve a more supportive environment for youth wellbeing.