NCJ Number
180412
Journal
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: March/April 2000 Pages: 217-225
Date Published
2000
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study investigated possible relationships between various subtraits of aggression and psychological symptoms in a sample of male delinquents.
Abstract
A total of 189 subjects from a juvenile correctional center for delinquent adolescents and 117 control subjects from secondary schools in Arkhangelsk, Russia, were assessed with the Aggression Questionnaire and the Youth Self-Report. The Aggression Questionnaire consists of 29 items divided into four subscales: Hostility, Anger, Verbal Aggression, and Physical Aggression. It assesses the levels of these various subtraits of aggression in the subject. The Youth Self-Report obtains standardized self-reports on youths' competencies and behavioral/emotional problems. Data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Significant correlations between hostility, anger, and some psychological problems (e.g., Withdrawn, Anxious/Depressed, Thought Problems) were found in both the experimental and control groups. At the same time, physical and verbal aggression were almost exclusively related to aggressive and delinquent behavior. The findings lend support to the authors' proposed interactional model, in which excitation as a result of the interplay between cognitions and emotions could be expressed either as socially accepted behavior, aggressive behavior, or psychological and somatic symptoms. 3 tables, 1 figure, and 24 references