Violent and destructive behavior in school is a major concern for our society. Dangerous behavior occurs partly as a result of the social support that students with deviant behavior experience from their peers. As students age, peer social support becomes more problematic. Assessing student—student interactions in unstructured settings provides valuable information regarding a school's social climate. This article describes two studies aimed at identifying variables that maintain inappropriate behaviors by assessing peer-delivered consequences. The Student Interaction in Specific Settings (SISS) tool, a direct observation tool, was designed to assess the social climate of students in elementary and middle schools (Grades K—8). Study 1 examined the technical adequacy of the SISS using a sample drawn from 23 elementary and middle schools. Study 2 compared the SISS to other validated survey measures and archival data. Results indicate the SISS to be a reliable, efficient, sensitive, and valid measure of the student social climate in elementary and middles schools. Rates and conditional probabilities from the SISS are associated with components from the validated measures of school climate and student safety.
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