Citation

Wallace MT, Barry CT, Zeigler-Hill V, Green BA. Aggressive Behav. 2012; 38(3): 213-221.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, International Society for Research on Aggression, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/ab.21419

PMID

22531997

Abstract

Researchers continue to debate the role of self-esteem in aggression, but research has shown a consistent association between narcissism and aggression in adults and adolescents [e.g., Barry et al., 2007; Bushman and Baumeister, 1998; Stucke, 2007]. The primary aim of the current study was to examine whether locus of control (LOC) moderated the relation between self-perception variables (i.e., self-esteem and narcissism) and aggression in adolescents. Participants were 174 youth (145 males, 26 females) between the ages of 16 and 19 who were enrolled in a voluntary residential program for youth who have dropped out of school. The results showed that LOC moderated the association between self-esteem and aggression such that low self-esteem was associated with higher levels of aggression for individuals with an external LOC. Contrary to expectations, LOC failed to moderate the narcissism-aggression relation. The implications of this study for understanding how self-perception is related to adolescent aggression are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 38:213-221, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Language: en