A new study found a link between the quality of teacher-student relationships and later delinquency and violence

Young people who have a good relationship with their teacher when they are young are less likely to do bad things when they are older, say experts at Edinburgh University.

They looked at 1,483 young people who had a new teacher from the age of nine to 10.

They found pairs of young individuals from similar backgrounds who had diverse reactions to the instructor change.

Each pair included one young person who had a better relationship with their teacher and one who had a ­relatively worse relationship with their teacher, but they were otherwise very similar.

The researchers next compared the levels of delinquency and aggression in each pair at the ages of 13, 15, and 17.

The analyses were conducted on 208 pairs of 13-year-olds, 235 pairs of 15-year-olds, and 194 pairs of 17-year-olds. When the children were 11, their relationship with their instructor was also evaluated. Then, at three different ages, they completed questionnaires about violent and anti-social behavior, like stealing from home, shoplifting, or vandalism. The findings were eye-opening.

Researchers discovered that children who had better relationships with their teachers at the age of 11 committed less delinquent behaviors up to the age of 17 than those who had poorer teacher-student relationships.

At the age of 17, the young people who had a better relationship reported being less angry and violent.

The study’s striking conclusion is that the attachments young people make with teachers during childhood, as well as the significance they take on these interactions, influence whether they engage in delinquency and violence during adolescence.

Dr Ingrid Obsuth of the School of Health in Social Science added: “By controlling for additional potential predictors of delinquency and violence in ­adolescence, we were able to provide some of the strongest evidence to date for a link between the quality of teacher-student 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.”

The benefits of having a helpful teacher may extend even farther, to a prosperous future life.

Image Credit: Getty

You were reading: Study says liking your school teachers could set you up for a happy, non-rule-breaking life