The Association Between Teacher-Student Conflict and Bullying Among Chinese Junior High School Students: A Moderated Mediation Model

The Association Between Teacher-Student Conflict and Bullying Among Chinese Junior High School Students: A Moderated Mediation Model | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The Association Between Teacher-Student Conflict and Bullying Among Chinese Junior High School Students: A Moderated Mediation Model Linghao Kong, Chen Hu, Liang Huang, Yumei Zhang, Weijun Huang, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7382291/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background School bullying poses a serious threat to adolescents’ mental health and social adjustment. While teacher–student conflict is a common relational stressor in school settings, its mechanisms linking to bullying remain insufficiently explored, particularly in junior high school contexts. Guided by ecological systems theory, this study examined the mediating role of deviant peer affiliation and the moderating role of self-control in the association between teacher–student conflict and bullying among Chinese junior high school students. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in October 2024 with 1,973 students from four junior high schools in Jiangxi Province, China. Participants completed validated questionnaires assessing teacher–student conflict, deviant peer affiliation, self-control, and bullying behavior. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and moderated mediation analyses were performed using SPSS 26.0 and Hayes’ PROCESS macro (Models 4 and 59) with 5,000 bootstrap samples. Results Teacher–student conflict was positively associated with bullying behavior (β = 0.162, p < 0.001) both directly and indirectly via deviant peer affiliation (indirect effect = 0.066, accounting for 39.0% of the total effect). Self-control significantly moderated the direct path and both indirect paths, attenuating the effects of teacher–student conflict on deviant peer affiliation and bullying, as well as the effect of deviant peer affiliation on bullying. The moderated mediation index was−0.024 (95% CI:−0.042,−0.003). Conclusions Findings highlight that teacher–student conflict can contribute to bullying through deviant peer processes, while self-control serves as a protective factor buffering these effects. Interventions should target teacher–student relationship improvement, deviant peer affiliation prevention, and self-control enhancement to mitigate bullying risk in junior high school settings. Teacher-Student Conflict school bullying deviant peer affiliation self-control junior high school students China Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 1. Introduction School bullying has emerged as a pressing global public health concern, threatening the healthy development of adolescents worldwide [ 1 , 2 ]. Survey data suggest that approximately 30% of primary and secondary school students report having experienced bullying, with particularly high incidence during early adolescence [ 3 , 4 ]. Bullying is commonly defined as the deliberate and repeated enactment of hostile behaviors by an individual or group, encompassing verbal, physical, and relational forms [ 5 – 7 ]. A substantial body of research has consistently shown that adolescents involved in bullying are at heightened risk for serious psychological problems, including internalizing symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and cognitive distortions, as well as externalizing outcomes such as academic decline, self-injury, antisocial behavior, and even suicidal ideation [ 8 – 9 ]. These adverse outcomes not only impair students’ emotional and psychological well-being but may also exert long-term effects on their academic achievement, interpersonal relationships, and social adjustment [ 10 – 11 ]. Ecological systems theory offers a comprehensive, multilevel framework for understanding bullying behaviors, positing that individual behaviors are shaped by dynamic interactions with proximal environmental systems [ 12 ]. Given that bullying incidents predominantly occur within school settings, key factors in the school environment have become central to scholarly inquiry [ 13 ]. Among these, the teacher–student association, recognized as a core interaction within the school microsystem, has garnered sustained academic attention. While prior research has highlighted teacher support as a protective factor that reduces students’ involvement in bullying [ 14 – 16 ], it is important to recognize that such relationships are not uniformly positive. Teacher-Student Conflict, a prevalent form of negative school interaction, may have significant implications for adolescents’ bullying behaviors [ 17 ]. In Confucian cultural contexts characterized by hierarchical order and deference to authority, tensions between teacher control and student expression are often pronounced. Students’ attempts to express legitimate needs may be misinterpreted as defiance or disorder, thereby escalating conflict [ 18 ]. From an ecological standpoint, adolescents experiencing Teacher-Student Conflict may seek emotional support and identity validation from peers [ 19 ]. When these peers are inclined toward deviant behaviors such as aggression, truancy, or rule-breaking, the likelihood of engaging in bullying, either as perpetrator or victim, may increase [ 20 – 21 ]. Accordingly, deviant peer affiliation may serve as a key mediating mechanism in the association between Teacher-Student Conflict and bullying. Simultaneously, ecological systems theory emphasizes that individuals are not merely passive recipients of environmental influences; rather, their psychological resources play a crucial role in behavioral regulation. Self-control, the capacity to regulate emotions and inhibit impulsive behaviors, is widely regarded as a critical psychological asset that enables adolescents to cope with external stressors and avoid problematic behaviors [ 22 ]. Empirical evidence suggests that adolescents with high levels of self-control are better equipped to navigate conflictual situations rationally and to regulate negative emotions stemming from strained teacher—student relationships, thereby reducing the likelihood of affiliating with deviant peers or engaging in bullying [ 23 – 24 ]. Hence, self-control may exert a moderating effect on the indirect pathway from Teacher-Student Conflict to bullying via deviant peer affiliation. Although previous studies have separately examined the roles of teacher—student relationships, peer influence, and self-control in school bullying, few have integrated these factors into a unified explanatory model, particularly at the junior high school level. To address this gap, the present study adopts an ecological systems perspective to construct and test a model in which deviant peer affiliation mediates the association between Teacher-Student Conflict and bullying, while self-control moderates this mediation process. The goal is to uncover the underlying mechanisms contributing to school bullying and to inform the development of contextually sensitive intervention strategies. 2. Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses 2.1 The Association Between Teacher-Student Conflict and School Bullying As a critical ecological context for adolescent socialization, schools play a pivotal role in shaping the interpersonal dynamics that underlie the emergence and evolution of bullying behaviors [ 10 ]. In junior high school life, students are at a developmental stage characterized by immature cognition and unstable emotional regulation capacities. Hence, the quality of teacher—student relationships is particularly salient. Existing research has shown that negative teacher—student interactions can impair students’ emotional regulation, trigger hostility and aggression, and significantly increase the likelihood of their engagement in bullying behaviors [ 25 – 26 ]. From the perspective of attachment theory, secondary attachment relationships, such as those with teachers, exert profound effects on adolescents’ psychological development and social adaptation [ 27 – 29 ]. Harmonious and stable teacher—student relationships provide emotional support and a sense of security, which promote the development of positive psychological traits and reduce students’ reliance on aggressive behaviors [ 30 ]. Such relationships can also buffer the negative consequences of early insecure attachment and decrease the risk of bullying [ 31 – 32 ]. Moreover, because junior high school students spend the majority of their time in school, teachers are considered a primary factor influencing bullying and related issues within the school environment [ 33 – 34 ]. Compared to peer and familial relationships, teacher—student relationships are found to have a more significant role in mitigating bullying behavior [ 35 ]. However, not all teacher—student relationships are supportive. Teacher-Student Conflict, as an antagonistic form of interaction stemming from power asymmetry and goal divergence, typically manifests in two dimensions: behavioral conflict (e.g., verbal disputes) and psychological distancing (e.g., emotional indifference) [ 36 ]. In the school context, teachers often engage in control-countercontrol interactions in order to maintain classroom order, especially when confronted with students who violate rules or challenge authority [ 37 ]. Research has confirmed prolonged Teacher-Student Conflict not only undermines mutual trust but also triggers a range of negative emotional and behavioral responses in students, including hostility, anxiety, social withdrawal, and aggressive behavior [ 38 – 40 ]. Furthermore, Teacher-Student Conflict may also increase bullying risk through mechanisms of social evaluation. Peers can perceive and imitate teachers’ negative emotional evaluations of specific students, thereby exacerbating those students’ marginalization [ 41 ]. Social learning theory further suggests that students engaged in prolonged conflictual relationships with teachers may learn aggressive behavior through observational learning, viewing it as a legitimate strategy for resisting authority or asserting social dominance [ 42 ]. When expressions of teacher authority deteriorate into emotional outbursts, verbal threats, or exclusionary behavior, students may model these behaviors to gain a sense of control and identity, thereby exhibiting greater violent tendencies at school [ 43 – 44 ]. Empirical studies have confirmed that frequent Teacher-Student Conflicts significantly increase the likelihood of student involvement in bullying [ 45 ]. Meanwhile, teachers’ attitudes and interventions in bullying incidents are crucial. Effective intervention and support for victims can not only alleviate psychological harm but also help curb the spread of bullying [ 46 ]. In summary, existing studies provide compelling evidence that Teacher-Student Conflict, as a negative relational pattern, is positively associated with adolescent bullying behavior. However, the potential mediating and moderating mechanisms through which this association unfolds remain underexplored, particularly within the framework of ecological systems theory. Based on the above, we propose: H1: Teacher-Student Conflict significantly and positively predicts bullying behavior among junior high school students. 2.2 The Mediating Role of Deviant Peer Affiliation Deviant peer affiliation (DPA) refers to a maladaptive form of peer influence during adolescent socialization, characterized by individuals forming close associations with peers who engage in behaviors that violate legal or social norms [ 47 ]. According to self-determination theory, when students are unable to satisfy their basic psychological needs (relatedness, competence, autonomy) through teacher—student relationships, they may turn to deviant peers as an alternative source of need fulfillment [ 48 ]. In school contexts, deviant peer groups, characterized by high autonomy and low regulation, often provide a “compensatory space” for students who experience institutional exclusion or emotional deprivation, becoming a primary outlet for those seeking escape from negative school relationships [ 49 – 50 ]. Empirical evidence suggests that Teacher-Student Conflict significantly predicts deviant peer affiliation, particularly in contexts where teacher support is lacking or conflicts are frequent [ 51 – 52 ]. Consequently, DPA is viewed as an adaptive strategy for youth to seek emotional connection and identity in the face of inadequate institutional support or unstable emotional attachments [ 53 – 54 ]. Furthermore, DPA may serve as a critical mediator between Teacher-Student Conflict and bullying behavior. On one hand, according to peer norm theory, deviant peers often reinforce group belonging by jointly engaging in destructive behaviors such as bullying, thereby normalizing aggression through modeling and reinforcement [ 55 ]. Over time, deviant peer groups develop counter-normative behavioral standards, and their members gradually adopt and internalize these aggressive behaviors. On the other hand, adolescents closely affiliated with deviant peers are more likely to externalize negative emotions, using aggression as a strategy to cope with social stress [ 52 – 56 ]. Hence, deviant peers provide not only behavioral scripts for imitation but also cognitive mechanisms such as moral disengagement and responsibility displacement, which justify participation in bullying [ 57 – 58 ]. Prior studies have confirmed significant associations between DPA and cyberbullying [ 59 – 61 ]. In light of the above, we propose: H2: Deviant peer affiliation mediates the association between Teacher-Student Conflict and bullying behavior among junior high school students. 2.3 The Moderating Role of Self-Control Although both Teacher-Student Conflict and deviant peer affiliation have been shown to significantly predict adolescent bullying, the strength of these effects may vary depending on individual differences in self-control. Self-control, as a goal-oriented cognitive regulation resource, refers to an individual’s capacity to regulate impulses, delay gratification, and persist in goal-directed behaviors in the face of pressure and temptation [ 62 – 63 ]. Empirical evidence suggests that individuals with high self-control are more adept at emotion regulation and behavioral inhibition, thereby buffering the influence of environmental risks on externalizing problem behaviors [ 64 ]. Self-control exerts a “buffering” effect on how adolescents respond to conflict. In school settings, adolescents with low self-control are more likely to respond to conflict or stress with aggression, thus facing a higher risk of becoming perpetrators of bullying [ 65 ]. In contrast, students with high levels of self-control are more likely to employ strategies such as cognitive reappraisal and emotional regulation when facing strained teacher–student relationships or social rejection, thereby effectively inhibiting the tendency to externalize conflict experiences into violent or bullying behaviors [ 23 – 24 , 66 ]. Further research has indicated that when individuals perceive negative evaluations or emotional detachment from teachers, those with low self-control are more prone to moral disengagement and retaliatory aggression [ 67 ]. In contrast, individuals with high self-control are better able to weaken the link between emotional arousal and violent behavior [ 68 ]. Moreover, studies have shown that the combination of strong teacher support and high self-control significantly reduces students’ problem behaviors [ 69 ]. These findings suggest that self-control is not only a direct predictor of bullying behavior but, more importantly, serves as a moderating variable that can substantially buffer the adverse behavioral outcomes associated with teacher–student conflict. Moreover, self-control may influence adolescents’ propensity to affiliate with deviant peers. According to compensatory control theory, adolescents with low self-control are more likely to experience psychological deprivation under Teacher-Student Conflict and seek emotional fulfillment through deviant peer affiliation [ 70 ]. Empirical studies have found that such individuals are particularly drawn to the “unconditional acceptance” offered by deviant peers [ 71 ], while those with higher self-control tend to internalize negative emotions rather than attributing them to peer rejection, thereby reducing their likelihood of seeking deviant affiliations [ 23 ]. Additionally, self-control, as an essential component of psychological regulation, has been shown to moderate the association between peer behavior and individual outcomes [ 72 ]. Studies have found that in contexts characterized by frequent interaction with deviant peers, individuals with high self-control are still able to uphold behavioral norms and empathy, thereby exhibiting lower levels of aggression [ 73 – 74 ]. In contrast, individuals with low self-control, due to deficits in impulse regulation, are more susceptible to peer influence and driven by immediate gratification, resulting in heightened aggression tendencies [ 47 , 75 – 76 ]. In summary, self-control is not only a critical predictor of bullying behavior but also plays a moderating role in the “environment-behavior” pathway. It acts as a buffer against risks such as Teacher-Student Conflict and peer pressure, helping adolescents maintain behavioral stability in complex social contexts. Based on ecological systems theory and the aforementioned mechanisms, we propose the following hypotheses: H3a: Self-control moderates the association between Teacher-Student Conflict and deviant peer affiliation. H3b: Self-control moderates the association between deviant peer affiliation and bullying behavior. H3c: Self-control moderates the association between Teacher-Student Conflict and bullying behavior. Accordingly, the conceptual model of this study is illustrated in Fig. 1 . 3. Participants and Methods 3.1 Participants To explore the underlying mechanisms linking Teacher-Student Conflict and school bullying, a large-scale survey was conducted in October 2024 in four junior high schools located in Jiangxi Province, China. Prior to data collection, all participants were informed of the purpose of the study, and written informed consent was obtained from their legal guardians. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Fifth People’s Hospital of Jiujiang (Approval No. jjwy202423) and adhered strictly to the ethical guidelines outlined in CNBC Regulation No. 5710. Using a convenience sampling method, a total of 2,188 questionnaires were distributed. After excluding invalid responses based on preset criteria (e.g., abnormally short completion time, repetitive or patterned answers), 1,973 valid questionnaires were retained, yielding a valid response rate of 90.17%. Among the respondents, 992 were male and 981 were female; 1,038 were first-year students, and 935 were second-year students. Given the absence of a precise estimate of population effect size during the study’s design phase, we referred to related empirical studies to inform sample size considerations. Liu Shen et al. (2025), in a study titled “ Parental Marital Conflict and Bullying Behavior Among Adolescents: The Role of Deviant Peer Affiliation and Sensation Seeking ”, reported a significant positive correlation between parental conflict and adolescent bullying (r = 0.21, p < .01). Given the methodological and conceptual similarity between that study and ours, particularly in terms of measurement instruments, sample demographics, and research scope, we conducted a power analysis using G*Power 3.1. Assuming an effect size of r = 0.21, a significance level of α = .01, and a sample size of N = 508 (a subset used in specific hypothesis testing), the statistical power (1 − β) was calculated to be 0.982, which exceeds the conventional threshold of 0.80 used in social science research. This suggests that our sample was adequately powered to detect small to medium effect sizes with high sensitivity. Nonetheless, we acknowledge that the current sample size estimation is primarily based on effect sizes reported in existing literature, which presents certain limitations. Future research should consider conducting preliminary pilot studies to obtain empirical effect size estimates and utilize tools such as G*Power to perform more precise sample size calculations[ 77 ]. Such an approach would enhance the scientific rigor and replicability of the research design. 3.2 Measures All measures used in this study were derived from well-validated instruments developed either domestically or internationally. For scales originally in English, we employed the standard translation and back-translation procedure, followed by cultural and contextual adaptation for Chinese middle school settings to ensure linguistic and conceptual equivalence. 3.2.1Teacher-Student Conflict This study employed the Conflict subscale from the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) developed by Pianta et al. (1992)[ 78 ], which was adapted and validated in Chinese by Zhang Xiao (2010)[ 79 ]. The subscale comprises 10 items, rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Students’ perceived level of Teacher-Student Conflict was assessed by averaging their responses across all items, with higher scores indicating a greater perception of conflict in the teacher–student relationship. In the present study, the internal consistency of this subscale was high, with a Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.93. 3.2.2 Deviant Peer Affiliation Deviant peer affiliation was measured using the Deviant Peer Affiliation Scale developed by Li et al. (2013)[ 80 ], which contains 8 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never to 5 = always). The scale captures the frequency with which adolescents associate with peers who engage in antisocial behaviors such as fighting or truancy. Higher average scores reflect more frequent engagement with deviant peers. Cronbach’s α for this scale was 0.85 in the present study. 3.2.3 Self-Control Self-control was measured using the Self-Control Scale (SCS) originally developed by Tangney et al. (2004) and later adapted into Chinese by Tan Shuhua et al. (2008)[ 81 ]. The scale consists of 7 items across two dimensions: self-discipline and impulse control. Participants responded using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Higher average scores indicate a greater capacity for self-control. In the present study, the scale demonstrated good internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.87, indicating high measurement reliability. 3.2.4 School Bullying Bullying behavior was assessed using the Chinese version of the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (BVQ) revised by Zhang Wenxin and Wu Jianfen (2002)[ 82 ]. The bullying subscale includes 6 items across three dimensions: physical, verbal, and relational bullying. Students were asked how often they had experienced various forms of bullying in the past few months, using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (never this semester) to 4 (several times a week). Higher scores represent more frequent experiences of being bullied. Cronbach’s α for this scale was 0.90. 3.3 Data Analysis All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 26.0. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, and regression analyses were performed to test hypothesized moderated mediation models. Additionally, Hayes’ (2013) PROCESS macro (Model 59) was used to examine specific mediation and moderation effects. 4. Results 4.1 Common Method Bias Test Given that all measurement instruments in this study were self-reported by middle school students, the potential for common method bias (CMB) was carefully addressed through both procedural and statistical controls. Procedural controls included several key strategies: first, the questionnaire was administered anonymously, and participants were explicitly informed that their responses would be used solely for research purposes, thereby minimizing social desirability bias; second, to reduce response set tendencies, items from different scales were randomly ordered, disrupting the sequence of items within the same construct; third, all data collection was carried out by graduate students in psychology who had received standardized training, ensuring procedural rigor and consistency across administrations. Statistical control was implemented using Harman’s single-factor test, a widely adopted technique for preliminary detection of CMB. Specifically, all items were subjected to an unrotated exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to assess whether a single factor emerged and dominated the variance structure. Results revealed that seven factors with eigenvalues greater than 1 were extracted, accounting for a total of 63.92% of the variance. Importantly, the first factor accounted for only 25.99%, well below the commonly accepted threshold of 40% [ 83 ]. This indicates that no significant common method bias was present in the current study. 4.2 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations Descriptive statistics and intercorrelations among study variables are presented in Table 1 . Results indicated that Teacher-Student Conflict, deviant peer affiliation, and bullying behavior were all significantly positively correlated ( r = 0.266, 0.354; p < 0.001). Additionally, Teacher-Student Conflict was significantly correlated with deviant peer affiliation ( r = 0.348; p < 0.001). In contrast, self-control was negatively correlated with Teacher-Student Conflict ( r = − 0.319; p < 0.001), deviant peer affiliation ( r = − 0.257; p < 0.001), and bullying behavior ( r = − 0.183; p < 0.001). These findings are consistent with theoretical expectations and provide a solid empirical foundation for subsequent mediation and moderation analyses. Table 1 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations Among Variables (n = 1973) Variable M SD 1 2 3 4 1. Teacher-Student Conflict 1.705 0.781 1 2. Deviant Peer Affiliation 1.450 0.463 0.348 *** 1 3. Self-Control 3.358 0.719 -0.319 *** −0.257 *** 1 4. Bullying Behavior 0.300 0.501 0.266 *** 0.354 *** −0.183 *** 1 Note: * P < 0.05 , * P < 0.01 , *** P < 0.001. 4.3 Test of Moderated Mediation: The Moderating Role of Self-Control To examine the mediating effect of deviant peer affiliation on the association between Teacher-Student Conflict and bullying behavior, Model 4 of the PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2013) was employed with 5,000 bootstrap samples using the bias-corrected percentile bootstrap method. Results revealed that Teacher-Student Conflict significantly predicted deviant peer affiliation ( a = 0.348, SE = 0.013, p < 0.001). When both Teacher-Student Conflict and deviant peer affiliation were entered into the regression equation, Teacher-Student Conflict remained a significant predictor of bullying ( c′ = 0.162, SE = 0.014, p < 0.001), and deviant peer affiliation also significantly predicted bullying behavior ( b = 0.298, SE = 0.024, p < 0.001). These findings indicate that Teacher-Student Conflict exerts both a direct effect on bullying behavior and an indirect effect through partial mediation by deviant peer affiliation. The mediating effect was 0.066, accounting for 39.003% of the total effect, with a 95% confidence interval [0.073, 0.137], confirming H1 and H2. To further examine whether self-control moderates both the direct and indirect pathways, Model 59 of the PROCESS macro was used. As shown in Table 2 and Fig. 2 , Teacher-Student Conflict significantly and positively predicted deviant peer affiliation ( β = 0.165, p < 0.001), while the interaction between Teacher-Student Conflict and self-control negatively predicted deviant peer affiliation ( β = -0.052, p < 0.001). This indicates that self-control significantly moderates the Teacher-Student Conflict → deviant peer affiliation path: the effect of Teacher-Student Conflict on deviant peer affiliation diminishes as self-control increases. In addition, deviant peer affiliation positively predicted bullying behavior ( β = 0.298, p < 0.001), and its interaction with self-control negatively predicted bullying behavior ( β = -0.075, p < 0.05), suggesting that self-control also moderates the deviant peer affiliation → bullying behavior path. Specifically, Junior high school students with higher self-control are less likely to engage in bullying behavior even when influenced by deviant peers. Teacher-Student Conflict directly predicted bullying ( β = 0.084, p < 0.001), and the interaction between Teacher-Student Conflict and self-control had a significant negative effect on bullying ( β = -0.043, p < 0.05), further confirming that self-control moderates the direct path. When self-control is lower, the effect of Teacher-Student Conflict on bullying is stronger; when self-control is higher, the effect is weakened, demonstrating a buffering effect. Additionally, the moderated mediation index, calculated using 5,000 bootstrap samples, was − 0.024, with a 95% confidence interval of [-0.042, -0.003], excluding zero, indicating that the moderated mediation effect is statistically significant. These results support a risk-buffering moderated mediation model in which self-control, as a psychological resilience factor, significantly weakens the pathway from Teacher-Student Conflict to bullying via deviant peer affiliation. H3a, H3b, and H3c were all supported. Table 2 Test of the Moderated Mediation Model of Teacher-Student Conflict on Bullying Behavior Regression equation Overall fit index Significance of regression coefficients Outcome Variable Predictor R 2 F β t 95% CI Deviant Peer Affiliation Teacher-Student Conflict 0.386 114.726 *** 0.165 12.324 *** [0.1359, 0.192] Self-Control −0.110 −7.738 *** [−0.138,−0.082] Teacher-Student Conflict × Self-Control −0.052 −2.989 ** [−0.087,−0.018] Bullying Behavior Teacher-Student Conflict 0.398 73.884 *** 0.084 5.573 *** [0.054, 0.113] Deviant Peer Affiliation 0.298 12.124 *** [0.249, 0.346] Self-Control −0.050 −3.218 ** [−0.080,−0.019] Teacher-Student Conflict × Self-Control −0.043 −2.168 * [−0.082,−0.004] Deviant Peer Affiliation × Self-Control −0.075 −2.421 * [−0.137,−0.014] Note: * P < 0.05 , * P < 0.01 , *** P < 0.001. To further explore how self-control moderates the three key paths: (1) Teacher-Student Conflict → deviant peer affiliation, (2) deviant peer affiliation → bullying behavior, and (3) Teacher-Student Conflict → bullying behavior, simple slope analyses were conducted. Indirect effects, path coefficients, and 95% bootstrap confidence intervals were calculated at three levels of self-control: low (M − 1 SD), medium (M), and high (M + 1 SD). The corresponding results are presented in Table 3 . In addition, trend graphs were plotted to illustrate the moderating effects of self-control under high (+ 1 SD) and low (− 1 SD) conditions (Figs. 3–5). Results demonstrate that self-control buffers all three paths. At low levels of self-control, the effect of Teacher-Student Conflict on deviant peer affiliation and bullying behavior is strongest, and the indirect effect peaks. In contrast, when self-control is high, the slopes of all three paths decrease significantly, indicating weakened direct and indirect effects. Table 3 Conditional Indirect Effects of Teacher-Student Conflict on Bullying via Deviant Peer Affiliation at Different Levels of Self-Control Path Self-Control Path coefficient SE 95% CI Teacher-Student Conflict → Deviant Peer Affiliation M-SD 0.203 0.016 [0.172,0.234] M 0.165 0.013 [0.139,0.192] M + SD 0.128 0.021 [0.088,0.168] Deviant Peer Affiliation→Bullying Behavior M-SD 0.114 0.018 [0.078,0.150] M 0.084 0.015 [0.054,0.113] M + SD 0.053 0.023 [0.008,0.097] Teacher-Student Conflict→Bullying Behavior M-SD 0.352 0.031 [0.292,0.412] M 0.298 0.025 [0.249,0.346] M + SD 0.243 0.036 [0.174,0.313] Teacher-Student Conflict→Deviant Peer Affiliation → Bullying Behavior M-SD 0.071 0.017 [0.042,0.107] M 0.049 0.009 [0.033,0.069] M + SD 0.031 0.009 [0.017,0.052] 5. Discussion Grounded in ecological systems theory, this study systematically investigated the mechanisms through which Teacher-Student Conflict influences bullying behavior among junior high school students. Special attention was given to the mediating role of deviant peer affiliation (DPA) and the moderating role of self-control. The findings offer both theoretical insight and empirical evidence for constructing an ecological intervention model to address school bullying. Specifically, Teacher-Student Conflict was found to not only directly predict bullying behavior, but also indirectly influence it via increased affiliation with deviant peers. Furthermore, self-control significantly moderated all three paths within the model, namely, the direct effect of Teacher-Student Conflict on bullying, its effect on DPA, and the subsequent path from DPA to bullying. These results validate the proposed hypotheses and further illuminate critical risk transmission mechanisms within the school ecological system. The findings align with the core proposition of ecological systems theory that adolescent development is shaped by the interplay of nested subsystems such as school and peer networks, and resonate with the logic of deviant peer socialization. Moreover, the study underscores the far-reaching influence of teacher—student relationship quality on adolescent behavioral development. This research contributes a culturally grounded perspective on the antecedents of bullying in collectivist settings in China and holds significant practical implications for the design of school-based intervention strategies. 5.1 The Direct Effect of Teacher-Student Conflict on Bullying This study confirmed that teacher–student conflict significantly and positively predicts bullying behavior among junior high school students (supporting Hypothesis 1). This finding expands the research perspective on bullying within the framework of ecological system theory, highlighting the pivotal role of teachers as “significant others” in initiating bullying-related processes. It is consistent with prior evidence linking the quality of teacher–student interactions to students’ aggressive behavior [ 31 ]. From the perspective of attachment theory, early adolescence is a critical period for the reconstruction of self-concept and the reorganization of interpersonal attachments. Teachers, functioning as substitute attachment figures in the school setting, play a vital role in supporting students’ emotional security, sense of belonging, and emotional regulation. Conflict in teacher–student relationships may disrupt these protective functions, diminishing students’ capacity to cope with negative emotions [ 25 ]. In the context of Confucian cultural norms that emphasize deference to teachers, conflicts are often internalized or expressed covertly (e.g., through emotional withdrawal or cold violence). Negative teacher attitudes toward particular students may be rapidly amplified through peer modeling [ 41 ], accelerating the social marginalization of the targeted individuals. This effect is particularly pronounced among left-behind or boarding students, for whom teachers often serve as primary attachment figures in the absence of consistent parental support [ 46 ]. In such emotionally enclosed environments, teacher–student conflict may leave students with limited outlets for expressing distress, making aggression a more likely behavioral response [ 32 , 35 ], thereby contributing to a high-risk context for bullying. From a social learning theory perspective, this mechanism can also be understood as a cognitive-behavioral pathway. When teachers respond to student misconduct with punitive or exclusionary tactics, particularly in the absence of emotional repair, students may model these behaviors and come to view violence as a legitimate tool for asserting control or resolving conflict. Over time, they may internalize scripts such as “aggression equals control” or “power justifies justice” [ 37 , 45 ]. In such interactive cycles, teachers inadvertently shift from being rule-makers to agents of implicit violence transmission, while students develop conditioned associations between rejection and hostile retaliation [ 34 ]. These findings underscore the urgent need to construct a “authority—care balance” in classroom management. Teachers must go beyond maintaining discipline to actively repairing damaged relationships and modeling non-violent communication, thus breaking the chain of violence replication [ 36 , 46 ]. Schools should embed conflict resolution training into professional development programs, especially for managing power-asymmetric situations [ 38 ]. Ultimately, fostering a warm and supportive school climate, one that minimizes conflict and provides emotional scaffolding, may reduce the likelihood of students engaging in bullying behaviors. Improving the quality of teacher–student relationships and mitigating antagonistic interactions is thus a key entry point for bullying prevention. 5.2 The Mediating Role of Deviant Peer Affiliation This study further revealed that deviant peer affiliation (DPA) plays a significant partial mediating role in the association between teacher–student conflict and bullying behavior among junior high school students (supporting Hypothesis 2). This finding sheds light on how adolescents, after experiencing relational detachment within the school microsystem, may engage in compensatory behaviors through the peer system, thereby confirming the core proposition of ecological systems theory regarding cross-system influence pathways [ 84 ]. As a disruptive relational event, teacher–student conflict undermines the emotional support function of the proximal school environment, resulting in the structural deprivation of students’ basic psychological needs, namely, sense of belonging, competence, and autonomy [ 48 ]. In response, students may turn to DPA as an alternative means to satisfy these unmet needs. Deviant peer groups often offer heightened experiences of autonomy and strong peer identification, making them particularly attractive to students marginalized within formal authority systems [ 50 ]. However, this seemingly adaptive coping strategy is prone to triggering a peer socialization trap. DPA contributes to the normalization of aggressive behaviors through descriptive norms [ 55 ], while prescriptive norms and conformity pressures foster moral disengagement [ 3 ]. Over time, students not only learn and accept violence as a legitimate means of conflict resolution but may also internalize it as a strategy to preserve dignity and assert social status. This process forms a self-reinforcing ecological pathway—“teacher–student conflict → DPA → bullying behavior” [ 85 ]. This suggests that when teacher–student relationships are impaired and individuals lack effective emotional regulation and social support systems, they are highly susceptible to falling into a group socialization trap characterized by the reinforcement of deviant norms and the rationalization of aggressive behavior. In sum, the mediating mechanism identified in this study not only deepens our understanding of the developmental pathways underlying school bullying but also highlights the complex ways in which relational risks in the teacher—student system are transmitted into behavioral maladjustment through socialization processes. For junior high school students who are chronically exposed to teacher–student conflict, DPA serves not only as a channel for emotional compensation but also as a catalyst for bullying behavior. Therefore, anti-bullying interventions must move beyond behavior correction to address the institutional, relational, and emotional foundations of DPA. A multidimensional approach is essential to interrupt the emergence and influence of deviant peer affiliation and to achieve the goal of bullying prevention at its source. 5.3 The Moderating Role of Self-Control This study also confirmed that self-control serves as a key moderator in the association between teacher–student conflict and bullying (supporting H3a, H3b, and H3c). Self-control was shown to buffer risk responses through two key pathways: cognitive reappraisal and behavioral inhibition. Specifically, self-control significantly moderated the association between teacher–student conflict and DPA, as well as the association between DPA and bullying behavior, while also attenuating the direct predictive effect of teacher–student conflict on bullying. These findings support the person–environment interaction model and help explain individual differences in adolescents’ susceptibility to school bullying. According to Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) general theory of self-control, low self-control individuals are more prone to seek immediate gratification in stressful contexts, making them more likely to affiliate with deviant peers for emotional compensation[ 86 ]. The study revealed adolescents with high self-control employ adaptive cognitive strategies to reframe the meaning of teacher–student conflict and inhibit impulsive emotional outbursts, thereby reducing their likelihood of affiliating with deviant peers in response to such conflict. These findings align with prior research on internet addiction, which demonstrated that self-control reduces behavioral risk by dampening sensitivity to negative stimuli [ 79 ]. Moreover, adolescents with low self-control exhibit greater approach motivation toward deviant peers and are more likely to interpret conflict as an opportunity for excitement or dominance [ 47 , 76 ]. Further analysis revealed that self-control significantly moderated the predictive strength of teacher–student conflict on both deviant peer affiliation (DPA) and bullying behavior. In the presence of peers, individuals with low self-control tend to react more impulsively to teacher–student conflict. Immediate peer feedback, such as mockery or encouragement, may physiologically activate the reward circuitry in the limbic system and suppress inhibitory functions in the prefrontal cortex, making such individuals more susceptible to the influence of deviant peers [ 71 ]. In contrast, individuals with high self-control are more inclined to maintain goal-directed behavior, prioritize academic tasks and social norms, and thus resist peer pressure and prevent the transformation of frustration caused by conflict into aggressive behaviors [ 23 ]. The findings further indicate that self-control significantly moderates the behavioral transformation threshold in response to teacher–student conflict. High self-control individuals exhibit enhanced environmental risk filtration, showing greater resilience against impulsive or risky behavior in the face of teacher–student conflict [ 23 – 24 ]. These findings echo Bandura’s (1991) theory of self-regulation, which posits that high self-control enables individuals to internalize moral standards and social norms, thereby developing cognitive monitoring systems that dynamically modulate the impact of external environments on behavior[ 87 ]. Adolescents with high self-control are less likely to morally disengage and engage in bullying behaviors under disciplinary stress, whereas their low self-control peers are more prone to do so [ 65 , 67 ]. In the proposed model, self-control functions not only as a direct inhibitor of aggressive responses but also as a form of psychological resilience. It serves as a filtering mechanism to mitigate the penetration of environmental risk factors, thus establishing a psychological defense against deviant behaviors. In sum, this study validates the moderating function of self-control as a “psychological resilience factor,” underscoring its critical role in adolescent behavioral regulation and risk buffering. Particularly in asymmetrical power contexts such as teacher–student conflict, students with high self-control demonstrate greater capacity for emotional repair and adaptive functioning, whereas those with low self-control may spiral into deviant affiliations and aggression. Hence, future anti-bullying programs should incorporate modules on self-control development, enhancing students’ goal-setting, emotional regulation, and social self-awareness as proactive strategies for mitigating behavioral risk. 5.4 Limitations and Future Directions Despite the preliminary insights offered by this study into the mechanisms through which teacher–student conflict contributes to bullying behaviors among junior high school students, particularly via deviant peer affiliation and self-control as mediating and moderating variables, several limitations warrant attention and suggest directions for future research. First, the time dimension of the research design limits the precision of causal inference. This study adopted a cross-sectional survey method, and although the inclusion of control variables helped mitigate common method bias to some extent, such a design is inadequate for revealing the temporal sequence and dynamic evolution among variables.Therefore, future research could employ experience sampling methods (ESM) to conduct short-term, high-frequency tracking and apply cross-lagged panel models or quasi-experimental designs. Such approaches would allow for a more nuanced examination of the immediate and lagged effects of teacher–student conflict on bullying behaviors, thereby enhancing the precision of causal modeling. Second, the range of variables in the current model remains limited and does not include key protective pathways. While the present study focused on the mediating role of deviant peer affiliation, it overlooked potential compensatory mechanisms. For instance, students with high self-control may actively seek emotional support from teachers or turn to prosocial peer groups in response to conflictual teacher–student interactions, thereby buffering against the negative consequences. Future studies could incorporate adaptive coping strategies as additional mediators or moderators, thereby constructing a dual-pathway model encompassing both risk and protective factors to provide a more comprehensive account of environmental-behavior linkages. Third, the generalizability of the findings is constrained by the geographic and grade-level distribution of the sample. Most participants were drawn from southeastern coastal regions of China, with limited representation from central, western, and northern regions, which may introduce cultural or socioeconomic biases. Subsequent studies should aim to include more geographically diverse samples to enhance ecological validity across different sociocultural contexts. Moreover, the current study focused on younger adolescents (Grades 7 and 8), whose self-control capacities are still in the early stages of development. This may limit the observable strength of moderating effects. Therefore, future research may conduct longitudinal studies across different age stages (e.g., ninth-grade or high school students) to examine whether self-control plays a “developmental sensitive period” or exhibits stage-specific variations in its moderating strength within bullying formation mechanisms. Despite these limitations, this study adopts a dynamic and interactive perspective, integrating both individual-level traits and school ecological factors. It systematically elucidates the pathway by which teacher–student conflict influences bullying behavior via deviant peer affiliation and further confirms the buffering role of self-control in this process. The findings offer novel theoretical insights into the interplay between school microsystems and peer subsystems, thereby extending multi-level explanatory frameworks for bullying behavior. At the practical level, several implications emerge: schools should establish dynamic monitoring systems for teacher–student relationships; pay particular attention to the risks of peer alienation in high-conflict contexts; systematically enhance students’ self-control through targeted training programs; and foster multi-stakeholder school–family support networks. In Summary, this research not only sheds light on the mechanisms linking teacher–student conflict to school bullying, but also offers evidence-based guidance for optimizing the psychological ecology of school environments and promoting empathy-oriented educational practices. Future research should continue to deepen theoretical development and empirical validation, with the ultimate goal of informing systemic interventions that cultivate safer, more supportive, and developmentally nurturing school climates. 6. Conclusion At the theoretical level, this study innovatively incorporated teacher–student conflict into the explanatory framework of school bullying and constructed a moderated mediation model to systematically address the core question: How does teacher–student conflict influence bullying behaviors among students with different individual characteristics through specific mechanisms? The following conclusions can be drawn: (1) Teacher–student conflict significantly and positively predicts bullying behaviors among junior high school students; (2) Deviant peer affiliation serves as a significant mediator in the association between teacher–student conflict and student bullying; (3) Self-control moderates all three links in the mediation pathway from teacher–student conflict to bullying behavior through deviant peer affiliation. Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate This study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Fifth People's Hospital of Jiujiang, China (Approval No. jjwy202423). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. For participants under the age of 16, written informed consent was also obtained from their parents or legal guardians prior to participation. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests. Funding This study was funded by the Young Teachers Research Program of the Ministry of Education under the 13th Five-Year Plan for National Educational Sciences (Project No. EHA200421, 2020), and the General Research Project under the 14th Five-Year Plan for Educational Sciences in Jiangxi Province (Project No. 21PTYB034, 2021). The work was supported by“Research on Multi-Stakeholder Collaborative Interventions for the Detection and Prevention of Adolescent Depression and Suicide Risk " funded by the Key Research on Development Program-Science and Technology Support Plan Category in Jiujiang (Project No.S2024ZDYFN00144.2024). Author Contribution Linghao Kong: Writing–review & editing, Writing–original draft, Project administration, Methodology, Investigation, Data curation, Conceptualization. Chen Hu: conceptualization, Formal analysis and investigation, original draft preparation; Liang Huang: Writing–review & editing, Writing–original draft, Methodology, Conceptualization. Yumei Zhang:Writing–review & editing, Methodology, Formal analysis and investigation. Weijun Huang: Validation, Formal analysis, Supervision. Shaonan Huang: Writing – review & editing, Methodology, Resources Data Availability The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request. References Schoeler T, Duncan L, Cecil CM, Ploubidis GB, Pingault J. Quasi-experimental evidence on short- and long-term consequences of bullying victimization: A meta-analysis. Psychol Bull. 2018;144(12):1229–46. Juvonen J, Graham S. Bullying in schools: the power of bullies and the plight of victims. Ann Rev Psychol. 2014;65:159–85. Fan H, Xue L, Xiu J, Chen L, Liu S. Harsh parental discipline and school bullying among Chinese adolescents: The role of moral disengagement and deviant peer affiliation. Child Youth Serv Rev. 2023;145:106767. Craig W, Harel-Fisch Y, Fogel-Grinvald H, Dostaler S, Pickett W. A cross-national profile of bullying and victimization among adolescents in 40 countries. Int J Public Health. 2009;54(Suppl 2):216–24. Smith PK. Bullying: Definition, types, causes, consequences and intervention. Social Personality Psychol Compass. 2016;10(9):519–32. Olweus D. School Bullying: Development and Some Important Challenges. Ann Rev Clin Psychol. 2013;9(1):751–80. Boulton MJ, Hardcastle K, Down J, Fowles J, Simmonds JA. A comparison of preservice teachers' responses to cyber versus traditional bullying scenarios: similarities and differences and implications for practice. J Teacher Educ. 2014;65(2):145–55. Troop-Gordon W. Peer victimization in adolescence: the nature, progression, and consequences of being bullied within a developmental context. J Adolesc. 2017;55:116–28. Brunstein Klomek A, Marrocco F, Kleinman M, Schonfeld IS, Gould MS. Bullying, depression, and suicidality in adolescents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2007;46(1):40–9. Olweus D, Annotation. Bullying at School: Basic Facts and Effects of a School Based Intervention Program. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1994;35(7):1171–90. Kowalski RM, Giumetti GW, Schroeder AN, Lattanner MR. Bullying in the Digital Age: A Critical Review and Meta-Analysis of Cyberbullying Research Among Youth. Psychol Bull. 2014;140(4):1073–137. Bronfenbrenner U, Morris PA. The Bioecological Model of Human Development. Handbook of Child Psychology: Theoretical Models of Human Development. Volume I. Wiley Online Library; 2007. Menesini E, Salmivalli C. Bullying in schools: the state of knowledge and effective interventions. Psychol Health Med. 2017;22(sup1):240–53. Ding Y, Li D, Li X, Xiao J, Zhang H, Wang Y. Profiles of adolescent traditional and cyber bullying and victimization: The role of demographic, individual, family, school, and peer factors. Comput Hum Behav. 2020;111:106439. Banzon-Librojo L, Garabiles MR, Alampay LP. Relations between harsh discipline from teachers, perceived teacher support, and bullying victimization among high school students. J Adolesc. 2017;57:18–22. Veenstra R, Lindenberg S, Huitsing G, Sainio M, Salmivalli C. The role of teachers in bullying: The relation between antibullying attitudes, efficacy, and efforts to reduce bullying. J Educ Psychol. 2014;106(4):1135. Marengo D, Fabris MA, Prino LE, Settanni M, Longobardi C. Student-teacher conflict moderates the link between students' social status in the classroom and involvement in bullying behaviors and exposure to peer victimization. J Adolesc. 2021;87:86–97. Zhou N, Lam S, Chan K. The chinese classroom paradox: a cross-cultural comparison of teacher controlling behaviors. J Educ Psychol. 2012;104(4):1162–74. Lin S, Yu C, Chen J, Sheng J, Hu Y, Zhong L, Zhang Y. Deviant peer affiliation mediates the influence of parental psychological control on adolescent aggressive behavior: The moderating effect of self-esteem. Pers Indiv Differ. 2022;186(PartB):111330. Hong JS, Espelage DL. A review of mixed methods research on bullying and peer victimization in school. Educational Rev. 2011;64(1):115–26. Swearer SM, Hymel S. Understanding the bullying dynamic: Moving toward a social-ecological diathesis-stress model. Am Psychol. 2015;70(4):344–53. Vazsonyi AT, Mikuška J, Kelley EL. It's time: a meta-analysis on the self-control-deviance link. J Criminal Justice. 2017;48:48–63. Baumeister RF, Vohs KD, Tice DM. The strength model of self-control. Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2007;16(6):351–55. Denson TF, Capper MM, Oaten M, Friese M, Schofield TP. Self-control training decreases aggression in response to provocation in aggressive individuals. J Res Pers. 2011;45(2):252–56. Shahrour G, Ananbh N, Dalky H, Rababa M, Alzoubi F. The Role of Teacher-Student Relationship on Teachers' Attitudes Toward School Bullying: A Study from Jordan. Int J Bullying Prev. 2023. Milsom A, Gallo LL. Bullying in middle schools: prevention and intervention. Middle School J. 2006;37(3):12–9. Gold J. Bowlby’s Attachment Theory. In: Goldstein S, Naglieri JA, editors. Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer; 2011. pp. 272–5. Sabol TJ, Pianta RC. Recent trends in research on teacher-child relationships. Attach Hum Dev. 2012;14(3):213–31. Verschueren K. Middle childhood teacher-child relationships: insights from an attachment perspective and remaining challenges. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2015;148:77. Buyse E, Verschueren K, Doumen S, Damme JV, Maes F. Classroom problem behavior and teacher-child relationships in kindergarten: the moderating role of classroom climate. J Sch Psychol. 2008;46(4):367–91. Thornberg R, Wänström L, Pozzoli T, Gini G. Victim prevalence in bullying and its association with teacher-student and student-student relationships and class moral disengagement: A class-level path analysis. Res Papers Educ. 2018;33(3):320–35. Longobardi C, Iotti NO, Jungert T, Settanni M. Student-teacher relationships and bullying: the role of student social status. J Adolesc. 2018;63:1–10. Zurlo MC, Vallone F, Dell'Aquila E, Marocco D. Teachers' patterns of management of conflicts with students: A study in five European countries. Europe's J Psychol. 2020;16(1):112–27. Obsuth I, Murray AL, Malti T, Sulger P, Ribeaud D, Sulger P. A non-bipartite propensity score analysis of the effects of teacher-student relationships on adolescent problem and prosocial behavior. J Youth Adolesc. 2017;46(8):1661–87. Murray-Harvey R, Slee PT. School and home relationships and their impact on school bullying. School Psychol Int. 2010;31(3):271–95. Sulkowski ML, Simmons J. The protective role of teacher-student relationships against peer victimization and psychosocial distress. Psychol Sch. 2018;55(2):137–50. Herman KC, Prewitt SL, Eddy CL, Savale A, Reinke WM. Profiles of middle school teacher stress and coping: Concurrent and prospective correlates. J Sch Psychol. 2020;78:54–68. Krause A, Smith JD. Peer Aggression and Conflictual Teacher-Student Relationships: A Meta-Analysis. School Mental Health. 2022;14(1):306–27. Donat M, Knigge M, Dalbert C. Being a good or a just teacher: Which experiences of teachers' behavior can be more predictive of school bullying? Aggressive Behav. 2018;44(1):29–39. Wang D, Fletcher AC. The role of interactions with teachers and conflict with friends in shaping school adjustment. Soc Dev. 2017;26(3):545–59. Hendrickx MM, Mainhard T, Boor-Klip HJ, Brekelmans M. Our teacher likes you, so I like you: a social network approach to social referencing. J Sch Psychol. 2017;63:35–48. Bandura A. Social learning theory. Prentice-Hall; 1977. Davide M, Tomas J, Iotti NO, et al. Conflictual student-teacher relationship, emotional and behavioral problems, prosocial behavior, and their associations with bullies, victims, and bullies/victims. Educational Psychol. 2018;38(9):1–17. Wang C, Berry B, Swearer SM. The Critical Role of School Climate in Effective Bullying Prevention. Theory Into Pract. 2013;52(4):296–302. Marengo D, Jungert T, Iotti NO, Settanni M, Thornberg R, Longobardi C. Conflictual student-teacher relationship, emotional and behavioral problems, prosocial behavior, and their associations with bullies, victims, and bullies/victims. Educational Psychol. 2018;38(9):1201–17. Troop-Gordon W, Ladd GW. Teachers' victimization-related beliefs and strategies: Associations with students' aggressive behavior and peer victimization. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2015;43(1):45–60. Chen D, Drabick DAG, Burgers DE. A Developmental Perspective on Peer Rejection, Deviant Peer Affiliation, and Conduct Problems Among Youth. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2015;46:823–38. Ryan RM, Deci EL. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and wellbeing. Am Psychol. 2000;55:68–78. Fredriksen K, Rhodes J. The role of teacher relationships in the lives of students. New directions for youth development. 2004;103:45–54. Keijsers L, Branje S, Hawk ST, Schwartz SJ, Frijns T, Koot HM, van Lier P, Meeus W. Forbidden friends as forbidden fruit: Parental supervision of friendships, contact with deviant peers, and adolescent delinquency. Child Dev. 2012;83(2):651–66. Juan H, Estefanía E, Musitu G. The relationships of adolescent school-related deviant behaviour and victimization with psychological distress: testing a general model of the mediational role of parents and teachers across groups of gender and age. J Adolesc. 2006;29(5):671–90. Zhu J, Yu C, Bao Z, et al. Deviant peer affiliation as an explanatory mechanism in the association between corporal punishment and physical aggression: a longitudinal study among Chinese adolescents. J Abnorm Psychol. 2017;45:1537–51. Thompson EL, Mehari KR, Farrell AD. Deviant peer factors during early adolescence: cause or consequence of physical aggression? Child Dev. 2020;91:415–31. Wang X, Tian F, Wang P, Lindsey D. Childhood psychological maltreatment predicts adolescents' bullying victimization: Deviant peer affiliation and teacher-student relationships as moderators. Child Youth Serv Rev. 2024;163:107814. Dishion TJ, Tipsord JM. Peer contagion in child and adolescent social and emotional development. Ann Rev Psychol. 2011;62:189–214. Cho S. The impact of low self-control and delinquent peer associations on bullying perpetration and victimization among South Korean adolescents: Time-concurrent, time-lagged, and latent growth curve modeling. J School Violence. 2018;17(4):500–20. Wang X, Yang J, Wang P, Zhang Y, Li B, Xie X, Lei L. Deviant peer affiliation and bullying perpetration in adolescents: the mediating role of moral disengagement and the moderating role of moral identity. J Psychol. 2020;154:199–213. McCoy SS, Dimler LM, Samuels DV, et al. Adolescent susceptibility to deviant peer pressure: Does gender matter? Adolesc Res Rev. 2019;4:59–71. Camerini AL, Marciano L, Carrara A, Schulz PJ. Cyberbullying perpetration and victimization among children and adolescents: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. Telematics Inform. 2020;49:101362. Wang X, Wang S, Zeng X. Does deviant peer affiliation accelerate adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration? Roles of moral disengagement and self-control. Psychol Sch. 2023;60(12):5025–40. Wang M, Huebner ES, Liu Y, Tian L. Longitudinal relations between traditional bullying victimization and cyberbullying perpetration in elementary school students: Deviant peer affiliation as a mediator. Psychol Violence. 2022;12(5):361–70. Buker H. Formation of self-control: gottfredson and hirschi's general theory of crime and beyond. Aggress Violent Behav. 2011;16(3):265–76. Werner KM, Ford BQ. Self-control: An integrative framework. Soc Pers Psychol Compass. 2023;17(5):e12738. Tangney JP, Baumeister RF, Boone AL. High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. J Pers. 2004;72:271–324. Moon B, Alarid LF. School bullying, low self-control, and opportunity. J interpers Violence. 2015;30(5):839–56. Vazsonyi AT, Jiskrova GK. On the development of self-control and deviance from preschool to middle adolescence. J Criminal Justice. 2018;56:60–9. Jiang H, Liang H, Zhou H, Zhang B. Relationships among normative beliefs about aggression, moral disengagement, self-control and bullying in adolescents: a moderated mediation model. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2022;15:183–92. Imuta K, Scarf D, Pharo H, Hayne H. Childhood self-control predicts adolescent aggression: A 10-year longitudinal study. Aggressive Behav. 2022;48(1):44–55. Sáez-Delgado F, López-Angulo Y, Mella-Norambuena J, Baeza-Sepúlveda C, Contreras-Saavedra C, Lozano-Peña G. Teacher Self-Regulation and Its Relationship with Student Self-Regulation in Secondary Education. Sustainability. 2022;14(24):16863. Osgood JM, Muraven M. Self-control depletion does not diminish attitudes about being prosocial but does diminish prosocial behaviors. Basic Appl Social Psychol. 2015;37(1):68–80. Li Y, Scott Huebner E, Tian L. Deviant peer affiliation, self-control, and aggression during early adolescence: within-person effects and between-person differences. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2024;33:2343–52. Dyson R, Robertson GC, Wong MM. Brief report: peer group influences and adolescent internalizing problems as mediated by effortful control. J Adolesc. 2015;41:131–5. Righetti F, Finkenauer C, Finkel EJ. Low Self-Control Promotes the Willingness to Sacrifice in Close Relationships. Psychol Sci. 2013;24:1533–40. Duckworth AL, Taxer JL, Eskreis-Winkler L, Galla BM, Gross JJ. Self-control and academic achievement. Ann Rev Psychol. 2019;70:373–99. Denson TF, DeWall CN, Finkel EJ. Self-control and aggression. Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2012;21:20–5. Chang SAA, Baskin-Sommers A. Distrust moderates the effect of deviant peer affiliation on increased externalizing in adolescents. J Youth Adolesc. 2022;51:1829–40. Faul F, Erdfelder E, Lang A-G, Buchner A. G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behav Res Methods. 2007;39(2):175–91. Pianta RC, Steinberg M. Teacher–child relationships and the process of adjusting to school. In: Pianta RC, editor. Beyond the parent: The role of other adults in children's lives. Jossey-Bass; 1992. pp. 61–80. Zhang X. Reliability and validity of Teacher-Child Relationship Scale. Chin J Clin Psychol. 2010;18(5):582–3. Li D, Li X, Wang Y, Bao Z, Wen F. School Connectedness and Problematic Internet Use in Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model of Deviant Peer Affiliation and Self-Control. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2013;41(8):1231–42. Tan SH, Guo YY. Revision of self-control scale for Chinese college students. Chin J Clin Psychol. 2008;5:468–70. Zhang WX. Prevalence and major characteristics of bullying/victimization among primary and junior middle school children. Acta Physiol Sinica. 2002;4:387–94. Zhou HL, Long LR. Statistical remedies for common method biases. Adv Psychol Sci. 2004;12(6):942–50. Bronfenbrenner U. The Ecology of Human Development. Harvard University Press; 1979. Vitaro F, Beaver KM, Brendgen M, Dickson DJ, Dionne G, Boivin M. A genetically-controlled, cross-lagged study of the association between friends' deviance and participants' delinquency during adolescence: a replication. Dev Psychol. 2021;57(12):2011–21. Gottfredson MR, Hirschi T. A general theory of crime. Stanford University Press; 1990. Bandura A. Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organ Behav Hum Decis Process. 1991;50(2):248–87. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Nov, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 10 Nov, 2025 Editor invited by journal 14 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 17 Aug, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 17 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 15 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7382291","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":543985365,"identity":"13028ea8-dc63-4aa7-a895-e2d304087a5a","order_by":0,"name":"Linghao Kong","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Huazhong University Of Science And Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Linghao","middleName":"","lastName":"Kong","suffix":""},{"id":543985366,"identity":"b0b525ce-6c27-4e78-a874-6c18ba9f8065","order_by":1,"name":"Chen Hu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"NanTong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chen","middleName":"","lastName":"Hu","suffix":""},{"id":543985367,"identity":"2eccb6e0-39d7-4b55-815a-5dd1cd9cd6be","order_by":2,"name":"Liang Huang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The First Middle School Of Jiujiang Jiangxi Province","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Liang","middleName":"","lastName":"Huang","suffix":""},{"id":543985368,"identity":"90e9c948-4a17-4074-91b2-cb74d2192a90","order_by":3,"name":"Yumei Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Guangdong Ocean University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yumei","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":543985369,"identity":"cba45630-6212-4f3f-9cf6-f166107f1234","order_by":4,"name":"Weijun Huang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jiujiang University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Weijun","middleName":"","lastName":"Huang","suffix":""},{"id":543985370,"identity":"2bb5cccb-8242-4fd4-a677-c94d7dd08012","order_by":5,"name":"Shaonan Huang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA40lEQVRIie3RMYvCMBTA8SeFuDzsWkHqV4gUKn6bZOlUxbGDQwKHHdRdwQ/h6JgS6JTi2lF3B7vddHfZ72h7m0P+8Lb8IC8BcLneMGpHNV8Ep0Mp7yzb9CKD4khG4WyvNb2bshfxNJIwgjpJxo8Pr5vM/UppxJhLkcYZFwT8fMdayeK4YsU5SHgOJq75dQKBqS7tF6uRqictuZR7SwwBGiw7yM1QheybC43xmm+9HkSltEBFIihJAv1IbclJEPvIng6YKbF7l5uJXo2wXzl9yOYz24R+fmgnv8L/HXe5XC7Xn/0A1NNQpyI3V+oAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"The Fifth People's Hospital Of Jiujiang","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shaonan","middleName":"","lastName":"Huang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-15 14:53:08","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7382291/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7382291/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":96399532,"identity":"591500ed-bc5d-4c8c-bb43-32c7c5ea0d06","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-20 16:00:37","extension":"docx","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":223598,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"TheAssociationBetweenTeacherStudentConflictandBullyingAmongChineseJuniorHighSchoolStudentsAModeratedMediationModel8.18.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7382291/v1/a4ec79c76f284bc2d8336e51.docx"},{"id":96399522,"identity":"885eba7c-5fd5-4be4-a20a-2527980bf707","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-20 16:00:37","extension":"json","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":8033,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"8b4fdad56e40467a8d12cae357a37a85.json","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7382291/v1/335a27ebf86af5738547d0fd.json"},{"id":96453546,"identity":"531ccb2a-369c-448e-89f8-3607bc3432c6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-21 10:00:25","extension":"xml","order_by":2,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":188172,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"8b4fdad56e40467a8d12cae357a37a851enriched.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7382291/v1/a665f85b828081d4e5aad1ad.xml"},{"id":96453259,"identity":"5f39ba06-6370-4f9e-af35-3883a4e3d211","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-21 09:58:59","extension":"png","order_by":6,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":13438,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7382291/v1/38152c5a0ef681d529a43050.png"},{"id":96453323,"identity":"18cafbe6-33ca-48f8-8865-6ef42f899512","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-21 09:59:14","extension":"png","order_by":7,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":66658,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7382291/v1/76123605dc6ed59ea530acdb.png"},{"id":96399531,"identity":"e4653352-27be-46a5-99b4-b6194d4e2cd6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-20 16:00:37","extension":"png","order_by":8,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":42804,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Onlinefloatimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7382291/v1/ece3d03a55dcf04ba58ff3c6.png"},{"id":96399533,"identity":"c51c52b6-3abb-43ed-9dbe-202bcb4e30a4","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-20 16:00:37","extension":"xml","order_by":9,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":185056,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"8b4fdad56e40467a8d12cae357a37a851structuring.xml","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7382291/v1/da42b4aad97961ef2ea98e4c.xml"},{"id":96399534,"identity":"ba50a12d-0357-4f5f-ae8e-2fe23447f0ca","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-20 16:00:37","extension":"html","order_by":10,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":199307,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"earlyproof.html","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7382291/v1/1223df13d3302eafce49cfd0.html"},{"id":96399524,"identity":"f8f66bab-f414-4e83-bb7f-2085fc643121","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-20 16:00:37","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":34616,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eConceptual model of this study\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7382291/v1/05d6dc60864f394bd91d9022.png"},{"id":96399523,"identity":"941385a3-6078-4942-9f7e-f74e9316d15c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-20 16:00:37","extension":"jpeg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":120327,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eStandardized Path Coefficients of the Moderated Mediation Model\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7382291/v1/5e31af2826d70283d5461359.jpeg"},{"id":96454333,"identity":"3554a523-b21a-4d3d-ad22-143024722109","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-21 10:02:38","extension":"jpeg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":36216,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eModerating Effect of Self-Control on the Association Between Teacher-Student Conflict and Deviant Peer Affiliation\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.jpeg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7382291/v1/758505e7e483d6958e4408f4.jpeg"},{"id":96399529,"identity":"16238614-3b9f-4f03-9c08-3b13ca09a505","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-20 16:00:37","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":137649,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eModerating Effect of Self-Control on the Association Between Deviant Peer Affiliation and Bullying Behavior\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7382291/v1/4bdcd30c1f7f03a5ed18f033.png"},{"id":96399528,"identity":"00fc4c22-f206-46ef-a831-d069d719ba6e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-20 16:00:37","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":101734,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eModerating Effect of Self-Control on the Direct association Between Teacher-Student Conflict and Bullying Behavior\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7382291/v1/d87a91cc569cf574a6f23ef7.png"},{"id":96456972,"identity":"f7209eeb-be43-4fe0-8ff1-c5c2d90afeb5","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-11-21 10:08:46","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1631132,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7382291/v1/07bcc169-45b6-4f99-b038-b4fa0c334a41.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"The Association Between Teacher-Student Conflict and Bullying Among Chinese Junior High School Students: A Moderated Mediation Model","fulltext":[{"header":"1. Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eSchool bullying has emerged as a pressing global public health concern, threatening the healthy development of adolescents worldwide [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. Survey data suggest that approximately 30% of primary and secondary school students report having experienced bullying, with particularly high incidence during early adolescence [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e]. Bullying is commonly defined as the deliberate and repeated enactment of hostile behaviors by an individual or group, encompassing verbal, physical, and relational forms [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR6\" citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e]. A substantial body of research has consistently shown that adolescents involved in bullying are at heightened risk for serious psychological problems, including internalizing symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and cognitive distortions, as well as externalizing outcomes such as academic decline, self-injury, antisocial behavior, and even suicidal ideation [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. These adverse outcomes not only impair students\u0026rsquo; emotional and psychological well-being but may also exert long-term effects on their academic achievement, interpersonal relationships, and social adjustment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEcological systems theory offers a comprehensive, multilevel framework for understanding bullying behaviors, positing that individual behaviors are shaped by dynamic interactions with proximal environmental systems [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e]. Given that bullying incidents predominantly occur within school settings, key factors in the school environment have become central to scholarly inquiry [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]. Among these, the teacher\u0026ndash;student association, recognized as a core interaction within the school microsystem, has garnered sustained academic attention. While prior research has highlighted teacher support as a protective factor that reduces students\u0026rsquo; involvement in bullying [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR15\" citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e], it is important to recognize that such relationships are not uniformly positive. Teacher-Student Conflict, a prevalent form of negative school interaction, may have significant implications for adolescents\u0026rsquo; bullying behaviors [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]. In Confucian cultural contexts characterized by hierarchical order and deference to authority, tensions between teacher control and student expression are often pronounced. Students\u0026rsquo; attempts to express legitimate needs may be misinterpreted as defiance or disorder, thereby escalating conflict [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom an ecological standpoint, adolescents experiencing Teacher-Student Conflict may seek emotional support and identity validation from peers [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e]. When these peers are inclined toward deviant behaviors such as aggression, truancy, or rule-breaking, the likelihood of engaging in bullying, either as perpetrator or victim, may increase [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e]. Accordingly, deviant peer affiliation may serve as a key mediating mechanism in the association between Teacher-Student Conflict and bullying.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSimultaneously, ecological systems theory emphasizes that individuals are not merely passive recipients of environmental influences; rather, their psychological resources play a crucial role in behavioral regulation. Self-control, the capacity to regulate emotions and inhibit impulsive behaviors, is widely regarded as a critical psychological asset that enables adolescents to cope with external stressors and avoid problematic behaviors [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. Empirical evidence suggests that adolescents with high levels of self-control are better equipped to navigate conflictual situations rationally and to regulate negative emotions stemming from strained teacher\u0026mdash;student relationships, thereby reducing the likelihood of affiliating with deviant peers or engaging in bullying [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e]. Hence, self-control may exert a moderating effect on the indirect pathway from Teacher-Student Conflict to bullying via deviant peer affiliation.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough previous studies have separately examined the roles of teacher\u0026mdash;student relationships, peer influence, and self-control in school bullying, few have integrated these factors into a unified explanatory model, particularly at the junior high school level. To address this gap, the present study adopts an ecological systems perspective to construct and test a model in which deviant peer affiliation mediates the association between Teacher-Student Conflict and bullying, while self-control moderates this mediation process. The goal is to uncover the underlying mechanisms contributing to school bullying and to inform the development of contextually sensitive intervention strategies.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.1 The Association Between Teacher-Student Conflict and School Bullying\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs a critical ecological context for adolescent socialization, schools play a pivotal role in shaping the interpersonal dynamics that underlie the emergence and evolution of bullying behaviors [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e]. In junior high school life, students are at a developmental stage characterized by immature cognition and unstable emotional regulation capacities. Hence, the quality of teacher\u0026mdash;student relationships is particularly salient. Existing research has shown that negative teacher\u0026mdash;student interactions can impair students\u0026rsquo; emotional regulation, trigger hostility and aggression, and significantly increase the likelihood of their engagement in bullying behaviors [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom the perspective of attachment theory, secondary attachment relationships, such as those with teachers, exert profound effects on adolescents\u0026rsquo; psychological development and social adaptation [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR28\" citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]. Harmonious and stable teacher\u0026mdash;student relationships provide emotional support and a sense of security, which promote the development of positive psychological traits and reduce students\u0026rsquo; reliance on aggressive behaviors [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e]. Such relationships can also buffer the negative consequences of early insecure attachment and decrease the risk of bullying [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e]. Moreover, because junior high school students spend the majority of their time in school, teachers are considered a primary factor influencing bullying and related issues within the school environment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e]. Compared to peer and familial relationships, teacher\u0026mdash;student relationships are found to have a more significant role in mitigating bullying behavior [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHowever, not all teacher\u0026mdash;student relationships are supportive. Teacher-Student Conflict, as an antagonistic form of interaction stemming from power asymmetry and goal divergence, typically manifests in two dimensions: behavioral conflict (e.g., verbal disputes) and psychological distancing (e.g., emotional indifference) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e]. In the school context, teachers often engage in control-countercontrol interactions in order to maintain classroom order, especially when confronted with students who violate rules or challenge authority [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e]. Research has confirmed prolonged Teacher-Student Conflict not only undermines mutual trust but also triggers a range of negative emotional and behavioral responses in students, including hostility, anxiety, social withdrawal, and aggressive behavior [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR39\" citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e40\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFurthermore, Teacher-Student Conflict may also increase bullying risk through mechanisms of social evaluation. Peers can perceive and imitate teachers\u0026rsquo; negative emotional evaluations of specific students, thereby exacerbating those students\u0026rsquo; marginalization [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e41\u003c/span\u003e]. Social learning theory further suggests that students engaged in prolonged conflictual relationships with teachers may learn aggressive behavior through observational learning, viewing it as a legitimate strategy for resisting authority or asserting social dominance [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e42\u003c/span\u003e]. When expressions of teacher authority deteriorate into emotional outbursts, verbal threats, or exclusionary behavior, students may model these behaviors to gain a sense of control and identity, thereby exhibiting greater violent tendencies at school [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e44\u003c/span\u003e]. Empirical studies have confirmed that frequent Teacher-Student Conflicts significantly increase the likelihood of student involvement in bullying [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e45\u003c/span\u003e]. Meanwhile, teachers\u0026rsquo; attitudes and interventions in bullying incidents are crucial. Effective intervention and support for victims can not only alleviate psychological harm but also help curb the spread of bullying [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e46\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn summary, existing studies provide compelling evidence that Teacher-Student Conflict, as a negative relational pattern, is positively associated with adolescent bullying behavior. However, the potential mediating and moderating mechanisms through which this association unfolds remain underexplored, particularly within the framework of ecological systems theory. Based on the above, we propose:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eH1: Teacher-Student Conflict significantly and positively predicts bullying behavior among junior high school students.\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.2 The Mediating Role of Deviant Peer Affiliation\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eDeviant peer affiliation (DPA) refers to a maladaptive form of peer influence during adolescent socialization, characterized by individuals forming close associations with peers who engage in behaviors that violate legal or social norms [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e47\u003c/span\u003e]. According to self-determination theory, when students are unable to satisfy their basic psychological needs (relatedness, competence, autonomy) through teacher\u0026mdash;student relationships, they may turn to deviant peers as an alternative source of need fulfillment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e48\u003c/span\u003e]. In school contexts, deviant peer groups, characterized by high autonomy and low regulation, often provide a \u0026ldquo;compensatory space\u0026rdquo; for students who experience institutional exclusion or emotional deprivation, becoming a primary outlet for those seeking escape from negative school relationships [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e49\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e50\u003c/span\u003e]. Empirical evidence suggests that Teacher-Student Conflict significantly predicts deviant peer affiliation, particularly in contexts where teacher support is lacking or conflicts are frequent [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e51\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e52\u003c/span\u003e]. Consequently, DPA is viewed as an adaptive strategy for youth to seek emotional connection and identity in the face of inadequate institutional support or unstable emotional attachments [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e53\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e54\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFurthermore, DPA may serve as a critical mediator between Teacher-Student Conflict and bullying behavior. On one hand, according to peer norm theory, deviant peers often reinforce group belonging by jointly engaging in destructive behaviors such as bullying, thereby normalizing aggression through modeling and reinforcement [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e55\u003c/span\u003e]. Over time, deviant peer groups develop counter-normative behavioral standards, and their members gradually adopt and internalize these aggressive behaviors. On the other hand, adolescents closely affiliated with deviant peers are more likely to externalize negative emotions, using aggression as a strategy to cope with social stress [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR53 CR54 CR55\" citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e52\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e56\u003c/span\u003e]. Hence, deviant peers provide not only behavioral scripts for imitation but also cognitive mechanisms such as moral disengagement and responsibility displacement, which justify participation in bullying [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e57\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e58\u003c/span\u003e]. Prior studies have confirmed significant associations between DPA and cyberbullying [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR60\" citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e59\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e61\u003c/span\u003e]. In light of the above, we propose:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eH2: Deviant peer affiliation mediates the association between Teacher-Student Conflict and bullying behavior among junior high school students.\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e2.3 The Moderating Role of Self-Control\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough both Teacher-Student Conflict and deviant peer affiliation have been shown to significantly predict adolescent bullying, the strength of these effects may vary depending on individual differences in self-control. Self-control, as a goal-oriented cognitive regulation resource, refers to an individual\u0026rsquo;s capacity to regulate impulses, delay gratification, and persist in goal-directed behaviors in the face of pressure and temptation [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR62\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e62\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR63\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e63\u003c/span\u003e]. Empirical evidence suggests that individuals with high self-control are more adept at emotion regulation and behavioral inhibition, thereby buffering the influence of environmental risks on externalizing problem behaviors [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e64\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSelf-control exerts a \u0026ldquo;buffering\u0026rdquo; effect on how adolescents respond to conflict. In school settings, adolescents with low self-control are more likely to respond to conflict or stress with aggression, thus facing a higher risk of becoming perpetrators of bullying [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e65\u003c/span\u003e]. In contrast, students with high levels of self-control are more likely to employ strategies such as cognitive reappraisal and emotional regulation when facing strained teacher\u0026ndash;student relationships or social rejection, thereby effectively inhibiting the tendency to externalize conflict experiences into violent or bullying behaviors [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR66\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e66\u003c/span\u003e]. Further research has indicated that when individuals perceive negative evaluations or emotional detachment from teachers, those with low self-control are more prone to moral disengagement and retaliatory aggression [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR67\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e67\u003c/span\u003e]. In contrast, individuals with high self-control are better able to weaken the link between emotional arousal and violent behavior [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e68\u003c/span\u003e]. Moreover, studies have shown that the combination of strong teacher support and high self-control significantly reduces students\u0026rsquo; problem behaviors [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR69\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e69\u003c/span\u003e]. These findings suggest that self-control is not only a direct predictor of bullying behavior but, more importantly, serves as a moderating variable that can substantially buffer the adverse behavioral outcomes associated with teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoreover, self-control may influence adolescents\u0026rsquo; propensity to affiliate with deviant peers. According to compensatory control theory, adolescents with low self-control are more likely to experience psychological deprivation under Teacher-Student Conflict and seek emotional fulfillment through deviant peer affiliation [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR70\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e70\u003c/span\u003e]. Empirical studies have found that such individuals are particularly drawn to the \u0026ldquo;unconditional acceptance\u0026rdquo; offered by deviant peers [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR71\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e71\u003c/span\u003e], while those with higher self-control tend to internalize negative emotions rather than attributing them to peer rejection, thereby reducing their likelihood of seeking deviant affiliations [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, self-control, as an essential component of psychological regulation, has been shown to moderate the association between peer behavior and individual outcomes [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR72\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e72\u003c/span\u003e]. Studies have found that in contexts characterized by frequent interaction with deviant peers, individuals with high self-control are still able to uphold behavioral norms and empathy, thereby exhibiting lower levels of aggression [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR73\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e73\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR74\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e74\u003c/span\u003e]. In contrast, individuals with low self-control, due to deficits in impulse regulation, are more susceptible to peer influence and driven by immediate gratification, resulting in heightened aggression tendencies [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e47\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR75\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e75\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR76\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e76\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn summary, self-control is not only a critical predictor of bullying behavior but also plays a moderating role in the \u0026ldquo;environment-behavior\u0026rdquo; pathway. It acts as a buffer against risks such as Teacher-Student Conflict and peer pressure, helping adolescents maintain behavioral stability in complex social contexts. Based on ecological systems theory and the aforementioned mechanisms, we propose the following hypotheses:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eH3a: Self-control moderates the association between Teacher-Student Conflict and deviant peer affiliation.\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eH3b: Self-control moderates the association between deviant peer affiliation and bullying behavior.\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eH3c: Self-control moderates the association between Teacher-Student Conflict and bullying behavior.\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAccordingly, the conceptual model of this study is illustrated in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. Participants and Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e3.1 Participants\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo explore the underlying mechanisms linking Teacher-Student Conflict and school bullying, a large-scale survey was conducted in October 2024 in four junior high schools located in Jiangxi Province, China. Prior to data collection, all participants were informed of the purpose of the study, and written informed consent was obtained from their legal guardians. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Fifth People\u0026rsquo;s Hospital of Jiujiang (Approval No. jjwy202423) and adhered strictly to the ethical guidelines outlined in CNBC Regulation No. 5710. Using a convenience sampling method, a total of 2,188 questionnaires were distributed. After excluding invalid responses based on preset criteria (e.g., abnormally short completion time, repetitive or patterned answers), 1,973 valid questionnaires were retained, yielding a valid response rate of 90.17%. Among the respondents, 992 were male and 981 were female; 1,038 were first-year students, and 935 were second-year students.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGiven the absence of a precise estimate of population effect size during the study\u0026rsquo;s design phase, we referred to related empirical studies to inform sample size considerations. Liu Shen et al. (2025), in a study titled \u0026ldquo;\u003cem\u003eParental Marital Conflict and Bullying Behavior Among Adolescents: The Role of Deviant Peer Affiliation and Sensation Seeking\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rdquo;, reported a significant positive correlation between parental conflict and adolescent bullying (r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.21, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01). Given the methodological and conceptual similarity between that study and ours, particularly in terms of measurement instruments, sample demographics, and research scope, we conducted a power analysis using G*Power 3.1. Assuming an effect size of r\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.21, a significance level of α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;.01, and a sample size of N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;508 (a subset used in specific hypothesis testing), the statistical power (1\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;β) was calculated to be 0.982, which exceeds the conventional threshold of 0.80 used in social science research. This suggests that our sample was adequately powered to detect small to medium effect sizes with high sensitivity. Nonetheless, we acknowledge that the current sample size estimation is primarily based on effect sizes reported in existing literature, which presents certain limitations. Future research should consider conducting preliminary pilot studies to obtain empirical effect size estimates and utilize tools such as G*Power to perform more precise sample size calculations[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR77\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e77\u003c/span\u003e]. Such an approach would enhance the scientific rigor and replicability of the research design.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e3.2 Measures\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll measures used in this study were derived from well-validated instruments developed either domestically or internationally. For scales originally in English, we employed the standard translation and back-translation procedure, followed by cultural and contextual adaptation for Chinese middle school settings to ensure linguistic and conceptual equivalence.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e3.2.1Teacher-Student Conflict\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study employed the Conflict subscale from the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) developed by Pianta et al. (1992)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR78\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e78\u003c/span\u003e], which was adapted and validated in Chinese by Zhang Xiao (2010)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR79\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e79\u003c/span\u003e]. The subscale comprises 10 items, rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;strongly disagree, 5\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;strongly agree). Students\u0026rsquo; perceived level of Teacher-Student Conflict was assessed by averaging their responses across all items, with higher scores indicating a greater perception of conflict in the teacher\u0026ndash;student relationship. In the present study, the internal consistency of this subscale was high, with a Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α coefficient of 0.93.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e3.2.2 Deviant Peer Affiliation\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eDeviant peer affiliation was measured using the Deviant Peer Affiliation Scale developed by Li et al. (2013)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR80\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e80\u003c/span\u003e], which contains 8 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;never to 5\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;always). The scale captures the frequency with which adolescents associate with peers who engage in antisocial behaviors such as fighting or truancy. Higher average scores reflect more frequent engagement with deviant peers. Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α for this scale was 0.85 in the present study.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e3.2.3 Self-Control\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eSelf-control was measured using the Self-Control Scale (SCS) originally developed by Tangney et al. (2004) and later adapted into Chinese by Tan Shuhua et al. (2008)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR81\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e81\u003c/span\u003e]. The scale consists of 7 items across two dimensions: self-discipline and impulse control. Participants responded using a 5-point Likert scale (1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;strongly disagree, 5\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;strongly agree). Higher average scores indicate a greater capacity for self-control. In the present study, the scale demonstrated good internal consistency, with a Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α coefficient of 0.87, indicating high measurement reliability.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e3.2.4 School Bullying\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eBullying behavior was assessed using the Chinese version of the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (BVQ) revised by Zhang Wenxin and Wu Jianfen (2002)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR82\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e82\u003c/span\u003e]. The bullying subscale includes 6 items across three dimensions: physical, verbal, and relational bullying. Students were asked how often they had experienced various forms of bullying in the past few months, using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (never this semester) to 4 (several times a week). Higher scores represent more frequent experiences of being bullied. Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α for this scale was 0.90.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e3.3 Data Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS version 26.0. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, and regression analyses were performed to test hypothesized moderated mediation models. Additionally, Hayes\u0026rsquo; (2013) PROCESS macro (Model 59) was used to examine specific mediation and moderation effects.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4. Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e4.1 Common Method Bias Test\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eGiven that all measurement instruments in this study were self-reported by middle school students, the potential for common method bias (CMB) was carefully addressed through both procedural and statistical controls. Procedural controls included several key strategies: first, the questionnaire was administered anonymously, and participants were explicitly informed that their responses would be used solely for research purposes, thereby minimizing social desirability bias; second, to reduce response set tendencies, items from different scales were randomly ordered, disrupting the sequence of items within the same construct; third, all data collection was carried out by graduate students in psychology who had received standardized training, ensuring procedural rigor and consistency across administrations. Statistical control was implemented using Harman\u0026rsquo;s single-factor test, a widely adopted technique for preliminary detection of CMB. Specifically, all items were subjected to an unrotated exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to assess whether a single factor emerged and dominated the variance structure. Results revealed that seven factors with eigenvalues greater than 1 were extracted, accounting for a total of 63.92% of the variance. Importantly, the first factor accounted for only 25.99%, well below the commonly accepted threshold of 40% [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR83\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e83\u003c/span\u003e]. This indicates that no significant common method bias was present in the current study.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e4.2 Descriptive Statistics and Correlations\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eDescriptive statistics and intercorrelations among study variables are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. Results indicated that Teacher-Student Conflict, deviant peer affiliation, and bullying behavior were all significantly positively correlated (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.266, 0.354; \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). Additionally, Teacher-Student Conflict was significantly correlated with deviant peer affiliation (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.348; \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). In contrast, self-control was negatively correlated with Teacher-Student Conflict (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.319; \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), deviant peer affiliation (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.257; \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), and bullying behavior (\u003cem\u003er\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.183; \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). These findings are consistent with theoretical expectations and provide a solid empirical foundation for subsequent mediation and moderation analyses.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDescriptive Statistics and Correlations Among Variables (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1973)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1. Teacher-Student Conflict\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.705\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.781\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2. Deviant Peer Affiliation\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.450\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.463\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.348\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3. Self-Control\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.358\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.719\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.319\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.257\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4. Bullying Behavior\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.300\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.501\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.266\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.354\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.183\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003eNote: \u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e*\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003e0.05\u003c/em\u003e, \u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e*\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003e0.01\u003c/em\u003e, \u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e***\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003e0.001.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e4.3 Test of Moderated Mediation: The Moderating Role of Self-Control\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo examine the mediating effect of deviant peer affiliation on the association between Teacher-Student Conflict and bullying behavior, Model 4 of the PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2013) was employed with 5,000 bootstrap samples using the bias-corrected percentile bootstrap method. Results revealed that Teacher-Student Conflict significantly predicted deviant peer affiliation (\u003cem\u003ea\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.348, \u003cem\u003eSE\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.013, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). When both Teacher-Student Conflict and deviant peer affiliation were entered into the regression equation, Teacher-Student Conflict remained a significant predictor of bullying (\u003cem\u003ec\u0026prime;\u003c/em\u003e = 0.162, \u003cem\u003eSE\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.014, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), and deviant peer affiliation also significantly predicted bullying behavior (\u003cem\u003eb\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.298, \u003cem\u003eSE\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.024, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). These findings indicate that Teacher-Student Conflict exerts both a direct effect on bullying behavior and an indirect effect through partial mediation by deviant peer affiliation. The mediating effect was 0.066, accounting for 39.003% of the total effect, with a 95% confidence interval [0.073, 0.137], confirming H1 and H2.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo further examine whether self-control moderates both the direct and indirect pathways, Model 59 of the PROCESS macro was used. As shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e and Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, Teacher-Student Conflict significantly and positively predicted deviant peer affiliation (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.165, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), while the interaction between Teacher-Student Conflict and self-control negatively predicted deviant peer affiliation (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = -0.052, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). This indicates that self-control significantly moderates the Teacher-Student Conflict \u0026rarr; deviant peer affiliation path: the effect of Teacher-Student Conflict on deviant peer affiliation diminishes as self-control increases. In addition, deviant peer affiliation positively predicted bullying behavior (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.298, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), and its interaction with self-control negatively predicted bullying behavior (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = -0.075, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), suggesting that self-control also moderates the deviant peer affiliation \u0026rarr; bullying behavior path. Specifically, Junior high school students with higher self-control are less likely to engage in bullying behavior even when influenced by deviant peers. Teacher-Student Conflict directly predicted bullying (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.084, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), and the interaction between Teacher-Student Conflict and self-control had a significant negative effect on bullying (\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e = -0.043, \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05), further confirming that self-control moderates the direct path. When self-control is lower, the effect of Teacher-Student Conflict on bullying is stronger; when self-control is higher, the effect is weakened, demonstrating a buffering effect. Additionally, the moderated mediation index, calculated using 5,000 bootstrap samples, was \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.024, with a 95% confidence interval of [-0.042, -0.003], excluding zero, indicating that the moderated mediation effect is statistically significant. These results support a risk-buffering moderated mediation model in which self-control, as a psychological resilience factor, significantly weakens the pathway from Teacher-Student Conflict to bullying via deviant peer affiliation. H3a, H3b, and H3c were all supported.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTest of the Moderated Mediation Model of Teacher-Student Conflict on Bullying Behavior\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eRegression equation\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOverall fit index\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c7\" namest=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSignificance of regression coefficients\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eOutcome Variable\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePredictor\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eR\u003c/em\u003e\u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eF\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eβ\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDeviant Peer Affiliation\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTeacher-Student Conflict\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.386\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e114.726\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.165\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e12.324\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.1359, 0.192]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSelf-Control\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.110\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;7.738\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.138,\u0026minus;0.082]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTeacher-Student Conflict \u0026times; Self-Control\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.052\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;2.989\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.087,\u0026minus;0.018]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBullying Behavior\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTeacher-Student Conflict\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.398\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e73.884\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.084\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5.573\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.054, 0.113]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDeviant Peer Affiliation\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.298\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e12.124\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.249, 0.346]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSelf-Control\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.050\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;3.218\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.080,\u0026minus;0.019]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTeacher-Student Conflict \u0026times; Self-Control\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.043\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;2.168\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.082,\u0026minus;0.004]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDeviant Peer Affiliation \u0026times; Self-Control\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;0.075\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;2.421\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[\u0026minus;0.137,\u0026minus;0.014]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003eNote: \u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e*\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003e0.05\u003c/em\u003e, \u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e*\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003e0.01\u003c/em\u003e, \u003csup\u003e\u003cem\u003e***\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sup\u003e\u003cem\u003eP\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;\u003cem\u003e0.001.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo further explore how self-control moderates the three key paths: (1) Teacher-Student Conflict \u0026rarr; deviant peer affiliation, (2) deviant peer affiliation \u0026rarr; bullying behavior, and (3) Teacher-Student Conflict \u0026rarr; bullying behavior, simple slope analyses were conducted. Indirect effects, path coefficients, and 95% bootstrap confidence intervals were calculated at three levels of self-control: low (M\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1 SD), medium (M), and high (M\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;1 SD). The corresponding results are presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. In addition, trend graphs were plotted to illustrate the moderating effects of self-control under high (+\u0026thinsp;1 SD) and low (\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1 SD) conditions (Figs.\u0026nbsp;3\u0026ndash;5). Results demonstrate that self-control buffers all three paths. At low levels of self-control, the effect of Teacher-Student Conflict on deviant peer affiliation and bullying behavior is strongest, and the indirect effect peaks. In contrast, when self-control is high, the slopes of all three paths decrease significantly, indicating weakened direct and indirect effects.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eConditional Indirect Effects of Teacher-Student Conflict on Bullying via Deviant Peer Affiliation at Different Levels of Self-Control\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePath\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSelf-Control\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePath coefficient\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e95% CI\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTeacher-Student Conflict \u0026rarr; Deviant Peer Affiliation\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM-SD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.203\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.016\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.172,0.234]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.165\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.013\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.139,0.192]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;SD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.128\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.021\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.088,0.168]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDeviant Peer Affiliation\u0026rarr;Bullying Behavior\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM-SD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.114\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.018\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.078,0.150]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.084\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.015\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.054,0.113]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;SD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.053\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.023\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.008,0.097]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTeacher-Student Conflict\u0026rarr;Bullying Behavior\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM-SD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.352\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.031\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.292,0.412]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.298\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.025\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.249,0.346]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;SD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.243\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.036\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.174,0.313]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTeacher-Student Conflict\u0026rarr;Deviant Peer Affiliation \u0026rarr; Bullying Behavior\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM-SD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.071\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.017\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.042,0.107]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.049\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.009\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.033,0.069]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eM\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;SD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.031\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.009\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.017,0.052]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"5. Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eGrounded in ecological systems theory, this study systematically investigated the mechanisms through which Teacher-Student Conflict influences bullying behavior among junior high school students. Special attention was given to the mediating role of deviant peer affiliation (DPA) and the moderating role of self-control. The findings offer both theoretical insight and empirical evidence for constructing an ecological intervention model to address school bullying. Specifically, Teacher-Student Conflict was found to not only directly predict bullying behavior, but also indirectly influence it via increased affiliation with deviant peers. Furthermore, self-control significantly moderated all three paths within the model, namely, the direct effect of Teacher-Student Conflict on bullying, its effect on DPA, and the subsequent path from DPA to bullying. These results validate the proposed hypotheses and further illuminate critical risk transmission mechanisms within the school ecological system. The findings align with the core proposition of ecological systems theory that adolescent development is shaped by the interplay of nested subsystems such as school and peer networks, and resonate with the logic of deviant peer socialization. Moreover, the study underscores the far-reaching influence of teacher\u0026mdash;student relationship quality on adolescent behavioral development. This research contributes a culturally grounded perspective on the antecedents of bullying in collectivist settings in China and holds significant practical implications for the design of school-based intervention strategies.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e5.1 The Direct Effect of Teacher-Student Conflict on Bullying\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study confirmed that teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict significantly and positively predicts bullying behavior among junior high school students (supporting Hypothesis 1). This finding expands the research perspective on bullying within the framework of ecological system theory, highlighting the pivotal role of teachers as \u0026ldquo;significant others\u0026rdquo; in initiating bullying-related processes.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is consistent with prior evidence linking the quality of teacher\u0026ndash;student interactions to students\u0026rsquo; aggressive behavior [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e]. From the perspective of attachment theory, early adolescence is a critical period for the reconstruction of self-concept and the reorganization of interpersonal attachments. Teachers, functioning as substitute attachment figures in the school setting, play a vital role in supporting students\u0026rsquo; emotional security, sense of belonging, and emotional regulation. Conflict in teacher\u0026ndash;student relationships may disrupt these protective functions, diminishing students\u0026rsquo; capacity to cope with negative emotions [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]. In the context of Confucian cultural norms that emphasize deference to teachers, conflicts are often internalized or expressed covertly (e.g., through emotional withdrawal or cold violence). Negative teacher attitudes toward particular students may be rapidly amplified through peer modeling [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e41\u003c/span\u003e], accelerating the social marginalization of the targeted individuals. This effect is particularly pronounced among left-behind or boarding students, for whom teachers often serve as primary attachment figures in the absence of consistent parental support [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e46\u003c/span\u003e]. In such emotionally enclosed environments, teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict may leave students with limited outlets for expressing distress, making aggression a more likely behavioral response [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e], thereby contributing to a high-risk context for bullying.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom a social learning theory perspective, this mechanism can also be understood as a cognitive-behavioral pathway. When teachers respond to student misconduct with punitive or exclusionary tactics, particularly in the absence of emotional repair, students may model these behaviors and come to view violence as a legitimate tool for asserting control or resolving conflict. Over time, they may internalize scripts such as \u0026ldquo;aggression equals control\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;power justifies justice\u0026rdquo; [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e45\u003c/span\u003e]. In such interactive cycles, teachers inadvertently shift from being rule-makers to agents of implicit violence transmission, while students develop conditioned associations between rejection and hostile retaliation [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese findings underscore the urgent need to construct a \u0026ldquo;authority\u0026mdash;care balance\u0026rdquo; in classroom management. Teachers must go beyond maintaining discipline to actively repairing damaged relationships and modeling non-violent communication, thus breaking the chain of violence replication [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e46\u003c/span\u003e]. Schools should embed conflict resolution training into professional development programs, especially for managing power-asymmetric situations [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e]. Ultimately, fostering a warm and supportive school climate, one that minimizes conflict and provides emotional scaffolding, may reduce the likelihood of students engaging in bullying behaviors. Improving the quality of teacher\u0026ndash;student relationships and mitigating antagonistic interactions is thus a key entry point for bullying prevention.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec20\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e5.2 The Mediating Role of Deviant Peer Affiliation\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study further revealed that deviant peer affiliation (DPA) plays a significant partial mediating role in the association between teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict and bullying behavior among junior high school students (supporting Hypothesis 2). This finding sheds light on how adolescents, after experiencing relational detachment within the school microsystem, may engage in compensatory behaviors through the peer system, thereby confirming the core proposition of ecological systems theory regarding cross-system influence pathways [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR84\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e84\u003c/span\u003e]. As a disruptive relational event, teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict undermines the emotional support function of the proximal school environment, resulting in the structural deprivation of students\u0026rsquo; basic psychological needs, namely, sense of belonging, competence, and autonomy [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e48\u003c/span\u003e]. In response, students may turn to DPA as an alternative means to satisfy these unmet needs. Deviant peer groups often offer heightened experiences of autonomy and strong peer identification, making them particularly attractive to students marginalized within formal authority systems [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e50\u003c/span\u003e]. However, this seemingly adaptive coping strategy is prone to triggering a peer socialization trap. DPA contributes to the normalization of aggressive behaviors through descriptive norms [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e55\u003c/span\u003e], while prescriptive norms and conformity pressures foster moral disengagement [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. Over time, students not only learn and accept violence as a legitimate means of conflict resolution but may also internalize it as a strategy to preserve dignity and assert social status. This process forms a self-reinforcing ecological pathway\u0026mdash;\u0026ldquo;teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict \u0026rarr; DPA \u0026rarr; bullying behavior\u0026rdquo; [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR85\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e85\u003c/span\u003e]. This suggests that when teacher\u0026ndash;student relationships are impaired and individuals lack effective emotional regulation and social support systems, they are highly susceptible to falling into a group socialization trap characterized by the reinforcement of deviant norms and the rationalization of aggressive behavior. In sum, the mediating mechanism identified in this study not only deepens our understanding of the developmental pathways underlying school bullying but also highlights the complex ways in which relational risks in the teacher\u0026mdash;student system are transmitted into behavioral maladjustment through socialization processes. For junior high school students who are chronically exposed to teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict, DPA serves not only as a channel for emotional compensation but also as a catalyst for bullying behavior. Therefore, anti-bullying interventions must move beyond behavior correction to address the institutional, relational, and emotional foundations of DPA. A multidimensional approach is essential to interrupt the emergence and influence of deviant peer affiliation and to achieve the goal of bullying prevention at its source.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec21\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e5.3 The Moderating Role of Self-Control\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study also confirmed that self-control serves as a key moderator in the association between teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict and bullying (supporting H3a, H3b, and H3c). Self-control was shown to buffer risk responses through two key pathways: cognitive reappraisal and behavioral inhibition. Specifically, self-control significantly moderated the association between teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict and DPA, as well as the association between DPA and bullying behavior, while also attenuating the direct predictive effect of teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict on bullying. These findings support the person\u0026ndash;environment interaction model and help explain individual differences in adolescents\u0026rsquo; susceptibility to school bullying.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAccording to Gottfredson and Hirschi\u0026rsquo;s (1990) general theory of self-control, low self-control individuals are more prone to seek immediate gratification in stressful contexts, making them more likely to affiliate with deviant peers for emotional compensation[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR86\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e86\u003c/span\u003e]. The study revealed adolescents with high self-control employ adaptive cognitive strategies to reframe the meaning of teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict and inhibit impulsive emotional outbursts, thereby reducing their likelihood of affiliating with deviant peers in response to such conflict. These findings align with prior research on internet addiction, which demonstrated that self-control reduces behavioral risk by dampening sensitivity to negative stimuli [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR79\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e79\u003c/span\u003e]. Moreover, adolescents with low self-control exhibit greater approach motivation toward deviant peers and are more likely to interpret conflict as an opportunity for excitement or dominance [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e47\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR76\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e76\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFurther analysis revealed that self-control significantly moderated the predictive strength of teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict on both deviant peer affiliation (DPA) and bullying behavior. In the presence of peers, individuals with low self-control tend to react more impulsively to teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict. Immediate peer feedback, such as mockery or encouragement, may physiologically activate the reward circuitry in the limbic system and suppress inhibitory functions in the prefrontal cortex, making such individuals more susceptible to the influence of deviant peers [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR71\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e71\u003c/span\u003e]. In contrast, individuals with high self-control are more inclined to maintain goal-directed behavior, prioritize academic tasks and social norms, and thus resist peer pressure and prevent the transformation of frustration caused by conflict into aggressive behaviors [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe findings further indicate that self-control significantly moderates the behavioral transformation threshold in response to teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict. High self-control individuals exhibit enhanced environmental risk filtration, showing greater resilience against impulsive or risky behavior in the face of teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e]. These findings echo Bandura\u0026rsquo;s (1991) theory of self-regulation, which posits that high self-control enables individuals to internalize moral standards and social norms, thereby developing cognitive monitoring systems that dynamically modulate the impact of external environments on behavior[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR87\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e87\u003c/span\u003e]. Adolescents with high self-control are less likely to morally disengage and engage in bullying behaviors under disciplinary stress, whereas their low self-control peers are more prone to do so [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e65\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR67\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e67\u003c/span\u003e]. In the proposed model, self-control functions not only as a direct inhibitor of aggressive responses but also as a form of psychological resilience. It serves as a filtering mechanism to mitigate the penetration of environmental risk factors, thus establishing a psychological defense against deviant behaviors.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn sum, this study validates the moderating function of self-control as a \u0026ldquo;psychological resilience factor,\u0026rdquo; underscoring its critical role in adolescent behavioral regulation and risk buffering. Particularly in asymmetrical power contexts such as teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict, students with high self-control demonstrate greater capacity for emotional repair and adaptive functioning, whereas those with low self-control may spiral into deviant affiliations and aggression. Hence, future anti-bullying programs should incorporate modules on self-control development, enhancing students\u0026rsquo; goal-setting, emotional regulation, and social self-awareness as proactive strategies for mitigating behavioral risk.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec22\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003e5.4 Limitations and Future Directions\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite the preliminary insights offered by this study into the mechanisms through which teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict contributes to bullying behaviors among junior high school students, particularly via deviant peer affiliation and self-control as mediating and moderating variables, several limitations warrant attention and suggest directions for future research. First, the time dimension of the research design limits the precision of causal inference. This study adopted a cross-sectional survey method, and although the inclusion of control variables helped mitigate common method bias to some extent, such a design is inadequate for revealing the temporal sequence and dynamic evolution among variables.Therefore, future research could employ experience sampling methods (ESM) to conduct short-term, high-frequency tracking and apply cross-lagged panel models or quasi-experimental designs. Such approaches would allow for a more nuanced examination of the immediate and lagged effects of teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict on bullying behaviors, thereby enhancing the precision of causal modeling. Second, the range of variables in the current model remains limited and does not include key protective pathways. While the present study focused on the mediating role of deviant peer affiliation, it overlooked potential compensatory mechanisms. For instance, students with high self-control may actively seek emotional support from teachers or turn to prosocial peer groups in response to conflictual teacher\u0026ndash;student interactions, thereby buffering against the negative consequences. Future studies could incorporate adaptive coping strategies as additional mediators or moderators, thereby constructing a dual-pathway model encompassing both risk and protective factors to provide a more comprehensive account of environmental-behavior linkages. Third, the generalizability of the findings is constrained by the geographic and grade-level distribution of the sample. Most participants were drawn from southeastern coastal regions of China, with limited representation from central, western, and northern regions, which may introduce cultural or socioeconomic biases. Subsequent studies should aim to include more geographically diverse samples to enhance ecological validity across different sociocultural contexts. Moreover, the current study focused on younger adolescents (Grades 7 and 8), whose self-control capacities are still in the early stages of development. This may limit the observable strength of moderating effects. Therefore, future research may conduct longitudinal studies across different age stages (e.g., ninth-grade or high school students) to examine whether self-control plays a \u0026ldquo;developmental sensitive period\u0026rdquo; or exhibits stage-specific variations in its moderating strength within bullying formation mechanisms.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDespite these limitations, this study adopts a dynamic and interactive perspective, integrating both individual-level traits and school ecological factors. It systematically elucidates the pathway by which teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict influences bullying behavior via deviant peer affiliation and further confirms the buffering role of self-control in this process. The findings offer novel theoretical insights into the interplay between school microsystems and peer subsystems, thereby extending multi-level explanatory frameworks for bullying behavior. At the practical level, several implications emerge: schools should establish dynamic monitoring systems for teacher\u0026ndash;student relationships; pay particular attention to the risks of peer alienation in high-conflict contexts; systematically enhance students\u0026rsquo; self-control through targeted training programs; and foster multi-stakeholder school\u0026ndash;family support networks. In Summary, this research not only sheds light on the mechanisms linking teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict to school bullying, but also offers evidence-based guidance for optimizing the psychological ecology of school environments and promoting empathy-oriented educational practices. Future research should continue to deepen theoretical development and empirical validation, with the ultimate goal of informing systemic interventions that cultivate safer, more supportive, and developmentally nurturing school climates.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"6. Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eAt the theoretical level, this study innovatively incorporated teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict into the explanatory framework of school bullying and constructed a moderated mediation model to systematically address the core question: How does teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict influence bullying behaviors among students with different individual characteristics through specific mechanisms? The following conclusions can be drawn: (1) Teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict significantly and positively predicts bullying behaviors among junior high school students; (2) Deviant peer affiliation serves as a significant mediator in the association between teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict and student bullying; (3) Self-control moderates all three links in the mediation pathway from teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict to bullying behavior through deviant peer affiliation.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003ch2\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e This study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Fifth People's Hospital of Jiujiang, China (Approval No. jjwy202423). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. For participants under the age of 16, written informed consent was also obtained from their parents or legal guardians prior to participation.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFunding\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study was funded by the Young Teachers Research Program of the Ministry of Education under the 13th Five-Year Plan for National Educational Sciences (Project No. EHA200421, 2020), and the General Research Project under the 14th Five-Year Plan for Educational Sciences in Jiangxi Province (Project No. 21PTYB034, 2021). The work was supported by\u0026ldquo;Research on Multi-Stakeholder Collaborative Interventions for the Detection and Prevention of Adolescent Depression and Suicide Risk \" funded by the Key Research on Development Program-Science and Technology Support Plan Category in Jiujiang (Project No.S2024ZDYFN00144.2024).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eLinghao Kong: Writing\u0026ndash;review \u0026amp; editing, Writing\u0026ndash;original draft, Project administration, Methodology, Investigation, Data curation, Conceptualization. Chen Hu: conceptualization, Formal analysis and investigation, original draft preparation; Liang Huang: Writing\u0026ndash;review \u0026amp; editing, Writing\u0026ndash;original draft, Methodology, Conceptualization. Yumei Zhang:Writing\u0026ndash;review \u0026amp; editing, Methodology, Formal analysis and investigation. Weijun Huang: Validation, Formal analysis, Supervision. Shaonan Huang: Writing \u0026ndash; review \u0026amp; editing, Methodology, Resources\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSchoeler T, Duncan L, Cecil CM, Ploubidis GB, Pingault J. Quasi-experimental evidence on short- and long-term consequences of bullying victimization: A meta-analysis. Psychol Bull. 2018;144(12):1229\u0026ndash;46.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJuvonen J, Graham S. Bullying in schools: the power of bullies and the plight of victims. Ann Rev Psychol. 2014;65:159\u0026ndash;85.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFan H, Xue L, Xiu J, Chen L, Liu S. Harsh parental discipline and school bullying among Chinese adolescents: The role of moral disengagement and deviant peer affiliation. Child Youth Serv Rev. 2023;145:106767.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCraig W, Harel-Fisch Y, Fogel-Grinvald H, Dostaler S, Pickett W. A cross-national profile of bullying and victimization among adolescents in 40 countries. Int J Public Health. 2009;54(Suppl 2):216\u0026ndash;24.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSmith PK. Bullying: Definition, types, causes, consequences and intervention. Social Personality Psychol Compass. 2016;10(9):519\u0026ndash;32.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOlweus D. School Bullying: Development and Some Important Challenges. Ann Rev Clin Psychol. 2013;9(1):751\u0026ndash;80.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBoulton MJ, Hardcastle K, Down J, Fowles J, Simmonds JA. A comparison of preservice teachers' responses to cyber versus traditional bullying scenarios: similarities and differences and implications for practice. J Teacher Educ. 2014;65(2):145\u0026ndash;55.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTroop-Gordon W. Peer victimization in adolescence: the nature, progression, and consequences of being bullied within a developmental context. J Adolesc. 2017;55:116\u0026ndash;28.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBrunstein Klomek A, Marrocco F, Kleinman M, Schonfeld IS, Gould MS. Bullying, depression, and suicidality in adolescents. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2007;46(1):40\u0026ndash;9.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOlweus D, Annotation. Bullying at School: Basic Facts and Effects of a School Based Intervention Program. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 1994;35(7):1171\u0026ndash;90.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKowalski RM, Giumetti GW, Schroeder AN, Lattanner MR. Bullying in the Digital Age: A Critical Review and Meta-Analysis of Cyberbullying Research Among Youth. Psychol Bull. 2014;140(4):1073\u0026ndash;137.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBronfenbrenner U, Morris PA. The Bioecological Model of Human Development. Handbook of Child Psychology: Theoretical Models of Human Development. Volume I. Wiley Online Library; 2007.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMenesini E, Salmivalli C. Bullying in schools: the state of knowledge and effective interventions. Psychol Health Med. 2017;22(sup1):240\u0026ndash;53.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDing Y, Li D, Li X, Xiao J, Zhang H, Wang Y. Profiles of adolescent traditional and cyber bullying and victimization: The role of demographic, individual, family, school, and peer factors. Comput Hum Behav. 2020;111:106439.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBanzon-Librojo L, Garabiles MR, Alampay LP. Relations between harsh discipline from teachers, perceived teacher support, and bullying victimization among high school students. J Adolesc. 2017;57:18\u0026ndash;22.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVeenstra R, Lindenberg S, Huitsing G, Sainio M, Salmivalli C. The role of teachers in bullying: The relation between antibullying attitudes, efficacy, and efforts to reduce bullying. J Educ Psychol. 2014;106(4):1135.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMarengo D, Fabris MA, Prino LE, Settanni M, Longobardi C. Student-teacher conflict moderates the link between students' social status in the classroom and involvement in bullying behaviors and exposure to peer victimization. J Adolesc. 2021;87:86\u0026ndash;97.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eZhou N, Lam S, Chan K. The chinese classroom paradox: a cross-cultural comparison of teacher controlling behaviors. J Educ Psychol. 2012;104(4):1162\u0026ndash;74.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLin S, Yu C, Chen J, Sheng J, Hu Y, Zhong L, Zhang Y. Deviant peer affiliation mediates the influence of parental psychological control on adolescent aggressive behavior: The moderating effect of self-esteem. Pers Indiv Differ. 2022;186(PartB):111330.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHong JS, Espelage DL. A review of mixed methods research on bullying and peer victimization in school. Educational Rev. 2011;64(1):115\u0026ndash;26.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSwearer SM, Hymel S. Understanding the bullying dynamic: Moving toward a social-ecological diathesis-stress model. Am Psychol. 2015;70(4):344\u0026ndash;53.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVazsonyi AT, Mikuška J, Kelley EL. It's time: a meta-analysis on the self-control-deviance link. J Criminal Justice. 2017;48:48\u0026ndash;63.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBaumeister RF, Vohs KD, Tice DM. The strength model of self-control. Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2007;16(6):351\u0026ndash;55.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDenson TF, Capper MM, Oaten M, Friese M, Schofield TP. Self-control training decreases aggression in response to provocation in aggressive individuals. J Res Pers. 2011;45(2):252\u0026ndash;56.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eShahrour G, Ananbh N, Dalky H, Rababa M, Alzoubi F. The Role of Teacher-Student Relationship on Teachers' Attitudes Toward School Bullying: A Study from Jordan. Int J Bullying Prev. 2023.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMilsom A, Gallo LL. Bullying in middle schools: prevention and intervention. Middle School J. 2006;37(3):12\u0026ndash;9.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGold J. Bowlby\u0026rsquo;s Attachment Theory. In: Goldstein S, Naglieri JA, editors. Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer; 2011. pp. 272\u0026ndash;5.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSabol TJ, Pianta RC. Recent trends in research on teacher-child relationships. Attach Hum Dev. 2012;14(3):213\u0026ndash;31.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVerschueren K. Middle childhood teacher-child relationships: insights from an attachment perspective and remaining challenges. New Dir Child Adolesc Dev. 2015;148:77.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBuyse E, Verschueren K, Doumen S, Damme JV, Maes F. Classroom problem behavior and teacher-child relationships in kindergarten: the moderating role of classroom climate. J Sch Psychol. 2008;46(4):367\u0026ndash;91.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThornberg R, W\u0026auml;nstr\u0026ouml;m L, Pozzoli T, Gini G. Victim prevalence in bullying and its association with teacher-student and student-student relationships and class moral disengagement: A class-level path analysis. Res Papers Educ. 2018;33(3):320\u0026ndash;35.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLongobardi C, Iotti NO, Jungert T, Settanni M. Student-teacher relationships and bullying: the role of student social status. J Adolesc. 2018;63:1\u0026ndash;10.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eZurlo MC, Vallone F, Dell'Aquila E, Marocco D. Teachers' patterns of management of conflicts with students: A study in five European countries. Europe's J Psychol. 2020;16(1):112\u0026ndash;27.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eObsuth I, Murray AL, Malti T, Sulger P, Ribeaud D, Sulger P. A non-bipartite propensity score analysis of the effects of teacher-student relationships on adolescent problem and prosocial behavior. J Youth Adolesc. 2017;46(8):1661\u0026ndash;87.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMurray-Harvey R, Slee PT. School and home relationships and their impact on school bullying. School Psychol Int. 2010;31(3):271\u0026ndash;95.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSulkowski ML, Simmons J. The protective role of teacher-student relationships against peer victimization and psychosocial distress. Psychol Sch. 2018;55(2):137\u0026ndash;50.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHerman KC, Prewitt SL, Eddy CL, Savale A, Reinke WM. Profiles of middle school teacher stress and coping: Concurrent and prospective correlates. J Sch Psychol. 2020;78:54\u0026ndash;68.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKrause A, Smith JD. Peer Aggression and Conflictual Teacher-Student Relationships: A Meta-Analysis. School Mental Health. 2022;14(1):306\u0026ndash;27.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDonat M, Knigge M, Dalbert C. Being a good or a just teacher: Which experiences of teachers' behavior can be more predictive of school bullying? Aggressive Behav. 2018;44(1):29\u0026ndash;39.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWang D, Fletcher AC. The role of interactions with teachers and conflict with friends in shaping school adjustment. Soc Dev. 2017;26(3):545\u0026ndash;59.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHendrickx MM, Mainhard T, Boor-Klip HJ, Brekelmans M. Our teacher likes you, so I like you: a social network approach to social referencing. J Sch Psychol. 2017;63:35\u0026ndash;48.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBandura A. Social learning theory. Prentice-Hall; 1977.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDavide M, Tomas J, Iotti NO, et al. Conflictual student-teacher relationship, emotional and behavioral problems, prosocial behavior, and their associations with bullies, victims, and bullies/victims. Educational Psychol. 2018;38(9):1\u0026ndash;17.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWang C, Berry B, Swearer SM. The Critical Role of School Climate in Effective Bullying Prevention. Theory Into Pract. 2013;52(4):296\u0026ndash;302.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMarengo D, Jungert T, Iotti NO, Settanni M, Thornberg R, Longobardi C. Conflictual student-teacher relationship, emotional and behavioral problems, prosocial behavior, and their associations with bullies, victims, and bullies/victims. Educational Psychol. 2018;38(9):1201\u0026ndash;17.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTroop-Gordon W, Ladd GW. Teachers' victimization-related beliefs and strategies: Associations with students' aggressive behavior and peer victimization. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2015;43(1):45\u0026ndash;60.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChen D, Drabick DAG, Burgers DE. A Developmental Perspective on Peer Rejection, Deviant Peer Affiliation, and Conduct Problems Among Youth. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2015;46:823\u0026ndash;38.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRyan RM, Deci EL. Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and wellbeing. Am Psychol. 2000;55:68\u0026ndash;78.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFredriksen K, Rhodes J. The role of teacher relationships in the lives of students. New directions for youth development. 2004;103:45\u0026ndash;54.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKeijsers L, Branje S, Hawk ST, Schwartz SJ, Frijns T, Koot HM, van Lier P, Meeus W. Forbidden friends as forbidden fruit: Parental supervision of friendships, contact with deviant peers, and adolescent delinquency. Child Dev. 2012;83(2):651\u0026ndash;66.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJuan H, Estefan\u0026iacute;a E, Musitu G. The relationships of adolescent school-related deviant behaviour and victimization with psychological distress: testing a general model of the mediational role of parents and teachers across groups of gender and age. J Adolesc. 2006;29(5):671\u0026ndash;90.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eZhu J, Yu C, Bao Z, et al. Deviant peer affiliation as an explanatory mechanism in the association between corporal punishment and physical aggression: a longitudinal study among Chinese adolescents. J Abnorm Psychol. 2017;45:1537\u0026ndash;51.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThompson EL, Mehari KR, Farrell AD. Deviant peer factors during early adolescence: cause or consequence of physical aggression? Child Dev. 2020;91:415\u0026ndash;31.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWang X, Tian F, Wang P, Lindsey D. Childhood psychological maltreatment predicts adolescents' bullying victimization: Deviant peer affiliation and teacher-student relationships as moderators. Child Youth Serv Rev. 2024;163:107814.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDishion TJ, Tipsord JM. Peer contagion in child and adolescent social and emotional development. Ann Rev Psychol. 2011;62:189\u0026ndash;214.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCho S. The impact of low self-control and delinquent peer associations on bullying perpetration and victimization among South Korean adolescents: Time-concurrent, time-lagged, and latent growth curve modeling. J School Violence. 2018;17(4):500\u0026ndash;20.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWang X, Yang J, Wang P, Zhang Y, Li B, Xie X, Lei L. Deviant peer affiliation and bullying perpetration in adolescents: the mediating role of moral disengagement and the moderating role of moral identity. J Psychol. 2020;154:199\u0026ndash;213.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMcCoy SS, Dimler LM, Samuels DV, et al. Adolescent susceptibility to deviant peer pressure: Does gender matter? Adolesc Res Rev. 2019;4:59\u0026ndash;71.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCamerini AL, Marciano L, Carrara A, Schulz PJ. Cyberbullying perpetration and victimization among children and adolescents: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. Telematics Inform. 2020;49:101362.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWang X, Wang S, Zeng X. Does deviant peer affiliation accelerate adolescents\u0026rsquo; cyberbullying perpetration? Roles of moral disengagement and self-control. Psychol Sch. 2023;60(12):5025\u0026ndash;40.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWang M, Huebner ES, Liu Y, Tian L. Longitudinal relations between traditional bullying victimization and cyberbullying perpetration in elementary school students: Deviant peer affiliation as a mediator. Psychol Violence. 2022;12(5):361\u0026ndash;70.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBuker H. Formation of self-control: gottfredson and hirschi's general theory of crime and beyond. Aggress Violent Behav. 2011;16(3):265\u0026ndash;76.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWerner KM, Ford BQ. Self-control: An integrative framework. Soc Pers Psychol Compass. 2023;17(5):e12738.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTangney JP, Baumeister RF, Boone AL. High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. J Pers. 2004;72:271\u0026ndash;324.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMoon B, Alarid LF. School bullying, low self-control, and opportunity. J interpers Violence. 2015;30(5):839\u0026ndash;56.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVazsonyi AT, Jiskrova GK. On the development of self-control and deviance from preschool to middle adolescence. J Criminal Justice. 2018;56:60\u0026ndash;9.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJiang H, Liang H, Zhou H, Zhang B. Relationships among normative beliefs about aggression, moral disengagement, self-control and bullying in adolescents: a moderated mediation model. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2022;15:183\u0026ndash;92.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eImuta K, Scarf D, Pharo H, Hayne H. Childhood self-control predicts adolescent aggression: A 10-year longitudinal study. Aggressive Behav. 2022;48(1):44\u0026ndash;55.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eS\u0026aacute;ez-Delgado F, L\u0026oacute;pez-Angulo Y, Mella-Norambuena J, Baeza-Sep\u0026uacute;lveda C, Contreras-Saavedra C, Lozano-Pe\u0026ntilde;a G. Teacher Self-Regulation and Its Relationship with Student Self-Regulation in Secondary Education. Sustainability. 2022;14(24):16863.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOsgood JM, Muraven M. Self-control depletion does not diminish attitudes about being prosocial but does diminish prosocial behaviors. Basic Appl Social Psychol. 2015;37(1):68\u0026ndash;80.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLi Y, Scott Huebner E, Tian L. Deviant peer affiliation, self-control, and aggression during early adolescence: within-person effects and between-person differences. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2024;33:2343\u0026ndash;52.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDyson R, Robertson GC, Wong MM. Brief report: peer group influences and adolescent internalizing problems as mediated by effortful control. J Adolesc. 2015;41:131\u0026ndash;5.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRighetti F, Finkenauer C, Finkel EJ. Low Self-Control Promotes the Willingness to Sacrifice in Close Relationships. Psychol Sci. 2013;24:1533\u0026ndash;40.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDuckworth AL, Taxer JL, Eskreis-Winkler L, Galla BM, Gross JJ. Self-control and academic achievement. Ann Rev Psychol. 2019;70:373\u0026ndash;99.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDenson TF, DeWall CN, Finkel EJ. Self-control and aggression. Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2012;21:20\u0026ndash;5.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eChang SAA, Baskin-Sommers A. Distrust moderates the effect of deviant peer affiliation on increased externalizing in adolescents. J Youth Adolesc. 2022;51:1829\u0026ndash;40.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFaul F, Erdfelder E, Lang A-G, Buchner A. G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behav Res Methods. 2007;39(2):175\u0026ndash;91.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePianta RC, Steinberg M. Teacher\u0026ndash;child relationships and the process of adjusting to school. In: Pianta RC, editor. Beyond the parent: The role of other adults in children's lives. Jossey-Bass; 1992. pp. 61\u0026ndash;80.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eZhang X. Reliability and validity of Teacher-Child Relationship Scale. Chin J Clin Psychol. 2010;18(5):582\u0026ndash;3.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLi D, Li X, Wang Y, Bao Z, Wen F. School Connectedness and Problematic Internet Use in Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model of Deviant Peer Affiliation and Self-Control. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2013;41(8):1231\u0026ndash;42.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTan SH, Guo YY. Revision of self-control scale for Chinese college students. Chin J Clin Psychol. 2008;5:468\u0026ndash;70.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eZhang WX. Prevalence and major characteristics of bullying/victimization among primary and junior middle school children. Acta Physiol Sinica. 2002;4:387\u0026ndash;94.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eZhou HL, Long LR. Statistical remedies for common method biases. Adv Psychol Sci. 2004;12(6):942\u0026ndash;50.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBronfenbrenner U. The Ecology of Human Development. Harvard University Press; 1979.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVitaro F, Beaver KM, Brendgen M, Dickson DJ, Dionne G, Boivin M. A genetically-controlled, cross-lagged study of the association between friends' deviance and participants' delinquency during adolescence: a replication. Dev Psychol. 2021;57(12):2011\u0026ndash;21.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGottfredson MR, Hirschi T. A general theory of crime. Stanford University Press; 1990.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBandura A. Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organ Behav Hum Decis Process. 1991;50(2):248\u0026ndash;87.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Teacher-Student Conflict, school bullying, deviant peer affiliation, self-control, junior high school students, China","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7382291/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7382291/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBackground\u003c/b\u003e School bullying poses a serious threat to adolescents\u0026rsquo; mental health and social adjustment. While teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict is a common relational stressor in school settings, its mechanisms linking to bullying remain insufficiently explored, particularly in junior high school contexts. Guided by ecological systems theory, this study examined the mediating role of deviant peer affiliation and the moderating role of self-control in the association between teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict and bullying among Chinese junior high school students.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMethods\u003c/b\u003e A cross-sectional survey was conducted in October 2024 with 1,973 students from four junior high schools in Jiangxi Province, China. Participants completed validated questionnaires assessing teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict, deviant peer affiliation, self-control, and bullying behavior. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and moderated mediation analyses were performed using SPSS 26.0 and Hayes\u0026rsquo; PROCESS macro (Models 4 and 59) with 5,000 bootstrap samples.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eResults\u003c/b\u003e Teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict was positively associated with bullying behavior (β = 0.162, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) both directly and indirectly via deviant peer affiliation (indirect effect\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.066, accounting for 39.0% of the total effect). Self-control significantly moderated the direct path and both indirect paths, attenuating the effects of teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict on deviant peer affiliation and bullying, as well as the effect of deviant peer affiliation on bullying. The moderated mediation index was\u0026minus;0.024 (95% CI:\u0026minus;0.042,\u0026minus;0.003).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eConclusions\u003c/b\u003e Findings highlight that teacher\u0026ndash;student conflict can contribute to bullying through deviant peer processes, while self-control serves as a protective factor buffering these effects. Interventions should target teacher\u0026ndash;student relationship improvement, deviant peer affiliation prevention, and self-control enhancement to mitigate bullying risk in junior high school settings.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The Association Between Teacher-Student Conflict and Bullying Among Chinese Junior High School Students: A Moderated Mediation Model","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-11-20 16:00:32","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7382291/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"124551664227837614869737914079870366091","date":"2025-11-20T13:35:08+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-11-10T11:43:54+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-10-14T09:31:00+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-08-18T02:32:31+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-08-18T02:31:49+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Psychology","date":"2025-08-15T14:38:30+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"d4251cc4-86bd-4e4b-b54e-ab1907b9d6c7","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 20th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-11-20T16:00:32+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-11-20 16:00:32","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7382291","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7382291","identity":"rs-7382291","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}