Exposure to violent video games and aggression in German adolescents: a longitudinal analysis

The relationship between exposure to violent electronic games and aggressive cognitions and behavior was examined in a longitudinal study. A total of 295 German adolescents completed the measures of violent video game usage, endorsement of aggressive norms, hostile attribution bias, and physical as well as indirect/relational aggression cross‐sectionally, and a subsample of N=143 was measured again 30 months later. Cross‐sectional results at T1 showed a direct relationship between violent game usage and aggressive norms, and an indirect link to hostile attribution bias through aggressive norms. In combination, exposure to game violence, normative beliefs, and hostile attribution bias predicted physical and indirect/relational aggression. Longitudinal analyses using path analysis showed that violence exposure at T1 predicted physical (but not indirect/relational) aggression 30 months later, whereas aggression at T1 was unrelated to later video game use. Exposure to violent games at T1 influenced physical (but not indirect/relational) aggression at T2 via an increase of aggressive norms and hostile attribution bias. The findings are discussed in relation to social‐cognitive explanations of long‐term effects of media violence on aggression. Aggr. Behav. 35:75–89, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The influence of confidence on associations among personal attitudes, perceived injunctive norms, and alcohol consumption

Social norms theories hold that perceptions of the degree of approval for a behavior have a strong influence on one's private attitudes and public behavior. In particular, being more approving of drinking and perceiving peers as more approving of drinking, are strongly associated with one's own drinking. However, previous research has not considered that students may vary considerably in the confidence in their estimates of peer approval and in the confidence in their estimates of their own approval of drinking. The present research was designed to evaluate confidence as a moderator of associations among perceived injunctive norms, own attitudes, and drinking. We expected perceived injunctive norms and own attitudes would be more strongly associated with drinking among students who felt more confident in their estimates of peer approval and own attitudes. We were also interested in whether this might differ by gender. Injunctive norms and self-reported alcohol consumption were measured in a sample of 708 college students. Findings from negative binomial regression analyses supported moderation hypotheses for confidence and perceived injunction norms but not for personal attitudes. Thus, perceived injunctive norms were more strongly associated with own drinking among students who felt more confident in their estimates of friends' approval of drinking. A three-way interaction further revealed that this was primarily true among women. Implications for norms and peer influence theories as well as interventions are discussed.     

Community violence victimization and aggressive behavior: the moderating effects of coping and social support

Exposure to community violence (CV) as a victim is an established risk factor for exhibiting later aggressive behavior. It is unclear, however, what factors may mitigate this relationship. This study tested the relationship of CV victimization to aggressive behavior, and the roles of coping style and perceived social support in moderating that relationship. Five hundred and fifteen 18–22‐year‐old men and women completed self‐report inventories on CV exposure, aggressive behavior, perceived support from family and friends, and coping strategies. From a prior study, factor analysis of the coping scales yielded three factors of (1) disengagement (i.e., using primarily avoidant strategies), (2) interpersonal (i.e., using primarily emotion‐focused strategies) and (3) problem‐focused (i.e., using primarily active/approach strategies) coping styles. Results indicated that high CV victimization, high disengagement (i.e., avoidant) and interpersonal (i.e., emotion‐focused) coping styles, and low perceived support from friends significantly predicted increased aggression scores. Significant moderating effects indicated that, as CV victimization increased in frequency, aggression scores were highest for those with low perceived friend support and high use of disengagement coping. Findings suggest that avoidant and emotion‐focused coping styles are risk factors, and perceived support from friends is a protective factor, for a putative “cycle of violence.” Aggr. Behav. 32:502–515. 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

日常环境中的暴力暴露对攻击行为的长期影响:一个有调节的中介模型

以850名大学生为被试,探讨日常环境中的暴力暴露与攻击行为的关系,并在此基础上提出一个有调节的中介模型,考察攻击性信念的中介作用和人际信任的调节作用。结果发现:(1)日常环境中的暴力暴露对攻击行为有显著的正向预测作用;(2)攻击性信念在日常环境中的暴力暴露与攻击行为的关系中起部分中介作用;(3)攻击性信念的中介作用会受到人际信任的调节。对于低人际信任个体,攻击性信念起部分中介作用;对于高人际信任个体,攻击性信念的中介效应不显著,日常环境中的暴力暴露对攻击行为只有直接作用。     

Aggression and social status: the moderating roles of sex and peer‐valued characteristics

Research on peer rejection has long emphasized links between aggressive behavior and peer liking, with aggressive children and adolescents being more rejected by peers. However, recent research shows that at least some aggressive students enjoy considerable power and influence and are perceived as “popular” within the peer group. To understand the processes underlying links between aggression and social status, the present research considered three distinct indices of social status (social preference, perceived popularity, and power) and investigated the degree to which the possession of peer‐valued characteristics moderated the links between status and aggression and whether these links varied by sex. A sample of 585 adolescents (grades 6–10) completed peer evaluation measures assessing social status, aggression (overt/physical, indirect/relational), and the degree to which peers possessed eight different peer‐valued characteristics (e.g., attractiveness, athleticism, etc.). Although sociometric indices of status were significantly related to perceived popularity, especially for boys, perceptions of power were more strongly linked to perceived popularity than to sociometric likeability. Moreover, the three indices of social status were differentially related to peers' assessments of aggression and to peer‐valued characteristics, with notable sex differences. As predicted, regression analyses demonstrated that the observed relationships between social status and aggression were moderated by the possession of peer‐valued characteristics; aggressive students who possessed peer‐valued characteristics enjoyed higher levels of perceived popularity and power and less disliking than those who did not. This relationship varied as a function of sex, the type of aggression considered, and the status construct predicted. Aggr. Behav. 32:396–408, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Emotion Dysregulation as a Mechanism Linking Stress Exposure to Adolescent Aggressive Behavior

Exposure to stress is associated with a wide range of internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents, including aggressive behavior. Extant research examining mechanisms underlying the associations between stress and youth aggression has consistently identified social information processing pathways that are disrupted by exposure to violence and increase risk of aggressive behavior. In the current study, we use longitudinal data to examine emotion dysregulation as a potential mechanism linking a broader range of stressful experiences to aggressive behavior in a diverse sample of early adolescents (N?=?1065). Specifically, we examined the longitudinal associations of peer victimization and stressful life events with emotion dysregulation and aggressive behavior. Structural equation modeling was used to create latent constructs of emotion dysregulation and aggression. Both stressful life events and peer victimization predicted subsequent increases in emotion dysregulation over a 4-month period. These increases in emotion dysregulation, in turn, were associated with increases in aggression over the subsequent 3?months. Longitudinal mediation models showed that emotion dysregulation mediated the relationship of both peer victimization (z?=?2.35, p?=?0.019) and stressful life events (z?=?2.32, p?=?0.020) with aggressive behavior. Increasing the use of adaptive emotion regulation strategies is an important target for interventions aimed at preventing the onset of adolescent aggressive behavior.     

暴力媒体接触程度对攻击行为的影响——规范信念和移情的作用

研究引入攻击行为的规范信念和移情两个概念,使用攻击性发展稳定的大学生为被试,探讨暴力媒体对攻击行为的作用机制。采用问卷调查法,使用Anderson等人编写的暴力媒体接触程度问卷、攻击行为规范信念量表（NOBAG）、攻击问卷（AQ）和人际活动指标问卷（IRI）对来自北京、福州和成都三地的680名被试进行实地调查,了解其暴力媒体接触程度、攻击行为规范信念、攻击行为和移情能力间的关系,并在此基础上构建了暴力媒体接触程度、移情、规范信念和攻击行为的结构方程模型。研究结果表明：（1）不同性别的攻击性差异显著,男性更经常使用暴力媒体,具有更高的攻击行为规范信念,且倾向于出现攻击行为;（2）暴力媒体对攻击行为的预测作用显著,且不同媒体形式间存在差异,暴力视频游戏的作用显著强于暴力电视和暴力电影/视频;（3）规范信念可以有效预测攻击行为,在暴力媒体接触程度和攻击行为间、移情和攻击行为间起中介作用。     

Middle school students overestimate normative support for aggression and underestimate normative support for nonviolent problem‐solving strategies

This study tested five hypotheses related to the accuracy of students' perceptions of school norms for aggression and nonviolent problem‐solving strategies with two cohorts (ns = 852 and 968) of 6th‐grade students in 12 schools. Students consistently overestimated peer normative support for aggression and underestimated peer normative support for nonviolent problem‐solving strategies. This effect remained significant in tests of moderation by gender, ethnicity, and aggression level. Tests for moderation by the degree of provocation (e.g., if a student was hit first) and a test measuring actual norms from eighth graders and perceived norms from seventh graders suggested that the discrepancy was not due to self‐serving bias or social desirability. Longitudinal analysis found that the discrepancy remained through 8th grade. The discrepancy between actual and perceived norms has implications for risk and violence prevention, which are discussed.     

Effects of Situational Cues on Aggressive Behavior

Numerous situational factors are known to increase the likelihood that a person will behave aggressively. The current review addresses what is currently understood about the relationship between three theoretically relevant situational variables (the presence of weapons, alcohol cues, and exposure to media violence) and aggressive behavior. Theoretical models of aggression generally propose heightened accessibility of aggressive cognitions (i.e., priming) as a common mechanism to explain effects of these variables on aggression but differ in terms of factors that modulate whether and how activated mental content will influence behavior. Here, we discuss these factors and suggest ways in which models of priming might be integrated. We also underscore that, although aggression has been the focus of considerable research for decades, much more research is needed to better understand the psychological and biological processes that mediate effects of situational cues on aggression in humans.