Some Influences on Perception and Justification of Aggression in Themselves and in their Social Environment

Abstract

The present study analyzes some factors associated with violence in pre-adolescents and adolescents, such as their self-rated aggression, the defensive or instrumental function of aggression, and the degree of violence perceived in others and their surroundings, namely family, friends and peers, neighborhood, city and world. Several self-report tests on aggression [Aggression Questionnaire (AQ), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-2), and an ad-hoc self-report developed by us (Self Appraisal Report (SAR))] were administered to 2110 subjects of both sexes between 9 and 17 years of age. Those subjects who perceived themselves as violent obtained significantly higher rates in aggression, impulsivity and anger, and believed that their surrounding was more violent than their self-rated non-violent ones did. Finally, they also showed a higher justification of violence, attributing it as a possible instrumental function. The best predictors of self-rated violence in the present study were the AQ physical aggressivity, the BIS motor impulse scale, and the STAXI expression index.