This study included two hundred and fourteen African American children and their teachers (N = 19). The students were recruited from first, fifth, and eight grades in three schools that served impoverished African American students within one large urban public school district. The children reported high levels of exposure to community violence, life transitions, and stress within the home. The primary goals of the study were threefold. First, to examine the role of teacher support and teacher-child conflict in moderating the effects of school-related stress on school adjustment among a sample of minority children living in high-risk urban environments. Second, to examine developmental differences in teacher support and teacher-child conflict for children with these demographic characteristics. Third, to determine if the construct of teacher support and teacher-child conflict operate in similar ways among urban, high-risk African American samples.

Findings indicated that teacher support and teacher-child conflict operate in unexpected ways for African American children living in high-risk urban settings. For example, children had difficulty distinguishing between different types of teacher support, but had little difficulty distinguishing between different types of conflict. Teacher support moderated the effects of certain types of school stress, but not others. There was substantial evidence that both teacher support and teacher-child conflict operate as additive rather than as moderating influences. In addition, the effects of certain types of teacher-child conflict varied by grade, type of stress, and outcome variable. These findings highlight the importance of context in examining the effects of teacher-child relationships on school adjustment for African American children living in stressful urban settings. Implications of these and other findings are presented.