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Longitudinal Relations between Beliefs Supporting Aggression,Anger Regulation, and Dating Aggression among Early Adolescents

Journal of Youth and Adolescence volume 46, pages 982–994 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Dating aggression occurs frequently in early to mid-adolescence and has negative repercussions for psychosocial adjustment and physical health. The patterns of behavior learned during this developmental timeframe may persist in future dating relationships, underscoring the need to identify risk factors for this outcome. The current study examined longitudinal relations between beliefs supporting aggression, anger regulation, and dating aggression. Participants were 176 middle school students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade (50 % female; 82 % African American). No direct effects were found between beliefs supporting reactive or proactive aggression and dating aggression. Beliefs supporting reactive aggression predicted increased rates of anger dysregulation, and beliefs supporting proactive aggression led to subsequent increases in anger inhibition. Anger dysregulation and inhibition were associated with higher frequencies of dating aggression. An indirect effect was found for the relation between beliefs supporting reactive aggression and dating aggression via anger dysregulation. Another indirect effect emerged for the relation between beliefs supporting proactive aggression and dating aggression through anger inhibition. The study’s findings suggested that beliefs supporting proactive and reactive aggression were differentially related to emotion regulation processes, and identified anger dysregulation and inhibition as risk factors for dating aggression among adolescents.

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Author Contributions

TS conceived of the study and it design, conducted statistical analyses, and drafted the manuscript; RG participated in the statistical analyses and helped to draft and revise the manuscript. EG participated in the study design, statistical analyses, and helped to revise the manuscript. MC and KB helped to draft and revise the manuscript. All authors have given approval for this version to be published.

Funding

The study was funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (Grant number: R324A100160).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 W. Franklin Street, Richmond, VA, 23284, United States

    Terri N. Sullivan, Rachel C. Garthe, Elizabeth A. Goncy, Megan M. Carlson & Kathryn L. Behrhorst

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  1. Terri N. Sullivan
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  2. Rachel C. Garthe
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  3. Elizabeth A. Goncy
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Correspondence to Terri N. Sullivan.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Authors’ Contributions

TS conceived of the study and it design, conducted statistical analyses, and drafted the manuscript; RG participated in the statistical analyses and helped to draft and revise the manuscript. EG participated in the study design, statistical analyses, and helped to revise the manuscript. MC and KB helped to draft and revise the manuscript. All authors have given approval for this version to be published.

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Sullivan, T.N., Garthe, R.C., Goncy, E.A. et al. Longitudinal Relations between Beliefs Supporting Aggression,Anger Regulation, and Dating Aggression among Early Adolescents. J Youth Adolescence 46, 982–994 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0569-0

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