Relationships with teachers and bonds with school: Social emotional adjustment correlates for children with and without disabilities

In this investigation, fifth- and sixth-grade children (N = 289) completed a measure to assess aspects of their relationships with teachers and bonds with schools. Children and teachers also completed measures related to chil dren's social and emotional adjustment. Analyses of responses to these meas ures indicated that students with disabilities had greater dissatisfaction with their relationships with teachers, poorer bonds with school, and perce ived higher school danger than did students without disabilities. Compariso ns involving students who were receiving services for emotional disturbance (ED), learning disabilities (LD), mild mental retardation (MMR), other hea lth impairments (OHI), and no disabilities indicated that students with ED and students with MMR had poorer affiliation with teachers and greater diss atisfaction with teachers than students without disabilities. Students with ED also had poorer bonds with school than did students without disabilitie s. Students with LD and students with MMR had significantly higher ratings of perceived school danger than did students without disabilities. Results of correlational analyses indicated that student-teacher relationship and s chool bonding variables were associated with social and emotional adjustmen t variables for students with and without disabilities. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.