The Relationship between Pragmatic Language Competence, Parental Child Abuse, and Teacher-Child Relationships in School Bullying: Focusing on Gender Differences in Fourth Graders in Elementary School Children

Objectives: The relationship between child pragmatic language competence, parental child abuse, and teacher-child relationships in school bullying was examined by gender group. Methods: 340 fourth-grade boys (34.41%) and 648 girls (65.59%) who participated in the Panel Study on Korean Children (PSKC) were analyzed for child pragmatic language competence (CPLC), parent-child abuse (PCAQ), teacher-child relationship (STRS), Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (OBVQ-R). Results: In the case of male students, controlling their Communication function and Discourse management according to contextual variation can help maintain intimacy in teacher-child relationships, but it does not affect school bullying. In addition, physical or mental abuse by parents was not related to the damage of male students’ peer school bullying. On the other hand, in the case of female students, emotional abuse of parents was a major variable that significantly affected the degree of damage (frequency) of peer school violence, as well as nonverbal communication skills and communication functions. Conclusion: If the results of this study are applied to the development and application of school bullying prevention programs, it would be desirable to distinguish between male and female students. First, in the case of female students, it was confirmed that non-verbal communication skills were especially important in the relationship between teachers, peers, and parents. And in the case of male students, direct verbal skills such as discourse management, communication function, and contextual variation ability according to the situation seem to affect intimacy with teachers and peer school bullying.