Citation

Li R, Yang R, Huang M, Xia LX. Pers. Individ. Dif. 2022; 188: e111476.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.paid.2021.111476

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Physical aggression can cause health and social problems among undergraduate students, and should be intervened in. However, how physical aggression develops is still unclear. We argue that violent attitude should be an important predicting factor of physical aggression, and it predicts physical aggression through two motivational paths. To examine these hypotheses, we used the Violent Attitude Scale, WSAP-Hostility Scale, Anger Rumination Scale, and Buss-Perry Aggression Scale by conducting two waves of surveys with a six-month interval, with 942 undergraduates as participants.

RESULTS of cross-lagged analysis and mediation model analysis showed a modest mutually predictive relationship between hostile attribution bias and anger rumination, and violent attitude predicted physical aggression through the parallel mediating effects of hostile attribution bias and anger rumination. Our findings suggested that input variable (such as violent attitude) leads to physical aggression through in-process motivations (such as hostile attribution bias) and post-process motivations (such as anger rumination), respectively. The present study contributes to current understanding of the psychological mechanisms regarding the development of physical aggression and develops aggression theory.

Language: en

Keywords

Anger rumination; Hostile attribution bias; Longitudinal study; Physical aggression; Violent attitude