Relationship between aggression and emotion regulation strategies of college students / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the prevalence of aggression and its influencing factors among college students and to provide bases for their mental health education.Methods 668 college students of two colleges were investigated with the Aggression Questionnaire(AQ),Symptom checklist 90 (SCL-90) and questionnaire of emotion regulation strategies of university students.Results 67.7％ college students had aggression,main expression of aggression was verbal aggression and hostility.Although the attack on total scores had no significant gender differences (2.59 ± 0.46,2.52 ± 0.49,P ＞ 0.05),but the boys' physical attacks (2.38 ± 0.62) were significantly higher than the girls' (2.02 ± 0.63,P ＜ 0.01),and the girls' anger(2.66 ± 0.77) were significantly higher than the boys' (2.52 ± 0.69,P＜ 0.01).There were significant differences in depression,hostility,horror and negative emotion regulation strategies(P＜ 0.05).The other groups had significant differences in anxiety except of verbal aggression (aggression2.05 ± 0.85,1.26 ± 0.36 ; physical attacks1.84 ± 0.79,1.51 ± 0.57 ; anger1.84 ± 0.77,1.43 ± 0.53 ; hostilityl.87 ± 0.73,1.24 ± 0.33 ; P ＜ 0.001).There were significant differences of anger in positive emotion regulation strategies(3.31 ± 0.60 ;3.58 ± 0.69;P＜ 0.001).Regression analysis showed that negative emotion and emotion regulation strategies to a certain extent could predict happening of aggression(P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Related measures should be taken to improve college students' positive emotion regulation strategies and reduce negative emotion regulation strategies in order to prevent aggression.