The ecology of academic risk: relationships between communication apprehension, verbal aggression, supportive communication, and students’ academic risk status

Abstract

Contemporary research exploring at‐risk student populations has generally used the epidemiological model, the constructivist model, or the ecological model to explain processes involved in academic risk. This study applies communication constructs to the ecological model of academic risk, which proposes that academic risk is a function of individual, social, and cultural communication phenomena. A survey of 232 students found that (a) at‐risk students communicated more with friends about school than did regular‐admission students, (b) levels of communication apprehension differed depending on at‐risk status and sex, and (c) levels of verbal aggression differed depending on at‐risk status. These results are discussed in terms of theoretical and applied implications.