Citation

Parada-Fernández P, Herrero-Fernández D, Rodríguez-Arcos I. Scand. J. Psychol. 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Scandinavian Psychological Associations, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/sjop.12944

PMID

37345358

Abstract

Aggressive behavior is a growing problem across many contexts. Thus, searching for its predictors is important. The aim of the current study was to analyze the moderator effect of mentalization in the relationship between impulsiveness and both verbal and physical aggressive behavior, using a sample of 583 participants gathered from the general Spanish population (M(Age)  = 34.60, SD(Age)  = 12.99). In our sample, 182 were male and 401 were female. The results showed significant bivariate relationships among aggression, impulsiveness, and mentalization. Moderation structural equation modeling (MSEM) showed a significant moderation effect, so whereas the value of mentalization is not relevant in cases of people with low impulsiveness, high mentalization abilities allow those people with high impulsiveness to behave less aggressively than people with high impulsiveness and low mentalization abilities. Practical implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

impulsiveness; mentalization; physical aggression; Verbal aggression