A Structural Model for Aggression in Middle School Students in Korea: Based on Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 20; no. 2; p. 1576
• Main Authors: Jang, Sook, Ahn, Hye Young
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 15.01.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Aggression - psychology; Aggressiveness; Attitudes; Child development; Emotional regulation; Emotions; Human growth; Humans; Literature reviews; Mental health; Middle school students; Middle schools; Models, Structural; Questionnaires; Republic of Korea; Sample size; Students - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teenagers; Theory of Planned Behavior; Variables; Violence; Republic of Korea; middle school students; aggression; Theory of Planned Behavior; parenting behavior; structural model; aggression regulation intention
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20021576

(1) Purpose: The purpose of this study was to construct a hypothetical model for the variables that can explain aggression in middle school students in order to promote mental health and the growth and development of middle school students in Korea. Through this model, we tried to confirm the structural relationship between the variables and their influence. (2) Methods: The subjects of this study were middle school students in the Korean city of D, and the data collection period was from July to September 2016. The data were collected from the final 310 completed copies of the questionnaire, excluding 23 copies with insufficient data. SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 26.0 were used for data analysis. (3) Results: The fit indices of the final model (GFI = 0.88, AGFI = 0.84, IFI = 0.95, CFI = 0.95, SRMR = 0.06, and RMSEA = 0.07) met the acceptable levels. The variables that affected middle school students’ aggression were parenting behavior and aggression regulation intention, and together, their explanatory power for aggression was 50.5%. Perceived behavioral control was the most influential variable for aggression regulation intention. (4) Conclusions: The results of this study will be used as a basis for studying aggression and developing aggression control training programs with the aim of reducing aggression in middle school students.