Researchers have found that verbal aggression (VA) is the most frequent form of aggression reported in schools across all grade levels. There are numerous harmful outcomes for VA perpetrators, victims, and witnesses including depression, anxiety, decreased academic performance, and low sense of school belonging. Moreover, VA is known to occasion physically aggressive responses making VA especially problematic for students who exhibit chronic maladaptive behavior profiles. In this study, therefore, we surveyed 144 middle and high school students identified with an emotional and behavioral disorder to understand their involvement with VA, response to victimization, and what VA messages lead to physical aggression. We also investigated the locations of VA incidents, student perceptions about teacher-delivered consequences for VA, and witness behavior. We discuss the implications for practice including explicit skill instruction for students and incorporating content about VA into preservice teacher coursework covering prevention and intervention strategies. Finally, we provide suggestions for future research such as conducting observations across a variety of school settings, in different regions of the country, and collecting qualitative data to enrich quantitative findings.

研究人员发现，言语攻击（VA）是所有年级学校报告的最常见的攻击形式。对 VA 肇事者、受害者和证人来说，有许多有害结果，包括抑郁、焦虑、学习成绩下降和学校归属感低下。此外，众所周知，VA 会引发身体攻击性反应，这使得 VA 对于表现出慢性适应不良行为特征的学生尤其成问题。因此，在这项研究中，我们调查了 144 名患有情绪和行为障碍的中学生，以了解他们与 VA 的关系、对受害的反应以及哪些 VA 信息会导致身体攻击。我们还调查了 VA 事件的发生地点、学生对教师对 VA 造成的后果的看法以及目击者的行为。我们讨论了对实践的影响，包括对学生的明确技能指导，以及将关于 VA 的内容纳入涵盖预防和干预策略的职前教师课程。最后，我们为未来的研究提供建议，例如在全国不同地区的各种学校环境中进行观察，并收集定性数据以丰富定量研究结果。