Can school climate moderate teacher bullying victimization?

Positive school climate has been identified as a moderator of the relationship between peer bullying victimization and negative outcomes, but it is unclear if this protective effect extends to students who are bullied by their teachers or other school staff. This study examined the adjustment of students who experienced bullying by teachers compared to peers and whether an authoritative school climate moderated this relationship. The sample consisted of 201,480 U.S. students in 313 high schools who completed a Virginia statewide school climate survey with measures of bullying, depression, anxiety, academic engagement, and feelings of school belonging. Students were classified into four groups: no bullying (84%), peer bullying (9%), teacher bullying (4%), and dual bullying (3%). Across all outcomes, any victimization was associated with poorer adjustment compared to non-victimization and dually bullied students reported the worst outcomes. School climate had little moderating effect on adjustment outcomes for students bullied by teachers. This suggests that the toxicity of teacher bullying was strongly associated with adverse adjustment outcomes such that the associated negative outcomes are not ameliorated by a positive school climate.