Aggression among School Adolescent and its Association with Socio-Demographic Characteristics: A Cross Sectional Study

  • Jugal Kishore Director Professor & Head, Department of Community Medicine, VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi.
  • Nalini Tripathi Scientist-C, ICMR Project, VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1159-8672
  • Ranjit Kumar Mandal Principal, BGS World School Chikballapur, Karnataka.
  • Satendra Kumar Tomar Director Administration, NH Goel World School, Raipur.
Keywords: Adolescent, Aggression, School Going Children, DIAS

Abstract

Background: Increasing aggression and violent behaviors in adolescents present serious challenges for public health. Children with persistent high levels of aggressiveness are often associated with developing conduct disorders later in life.

Objectives: (1) To identify aggression among school adolescents. (2). To find out the association of aggression with different socio-demographic characteristics among these students.

Methods: It was a school based cross sectional study conducted in one of the private schools in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Study population comprised of 319 adolescents studying in classes 9th-12th. A pre-tested, semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the study subjects. For assessing aggression, a modified version of Direct and Indirect Aggression Scale (DIAS) was used. Data was analyzed by using frequency tables and significant association was established by chi-square test.

Result: A large proportion of adolescents scored high on each item of aggression scale. Males adolescents displayed significantly higher levels of aggressiveness as compared to female. Younger age showed higher level of aggressive scores than older age groups. Adolescents who were Hindus and had nuclear families with educated parents were found to have high aggressive scores as compared to other religion and joint families. However, these differences were not statistically significant.

Conclusions: There is high aggression level among school adolescents which needs effective preventive and management strategy.

How to cite this article:
Kishore J, Tripathi N, Mandal RK, Tomar SK. Aggression among School Adolescent and its Association with Socio-Demographic Characteristics: A Cross Sectional Study. Ind J Youth Adol Health 2019; 6(2): 7-13.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2349.2880.201908

References

Krug EG, Dahlberg LL, Mercy JA, Zwi AB, Lozano R. World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva, Switzerland:

WHO; 2002. Available From: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/42495/9241545615_

eng.pdf;jsessionid=248DB0D7C76C7342AE-21C1888AE24B25?sequence=1.

National Crime Research Bureau Report. India: Ministry of Home Affairs; 2013.

Ferguson CJ, Beaver KM. Natural born killers: The genetic origins of extreme violence. Aggression and

Violent Behavior 2009; 14(5): 286-294. Available From: http://www.antoniocasella.eu/nume/Ferguson_2009.

pdf [Google Scholar].

Bjorkqvist K, Lagerspetz KM, Osterman K. The Direct and Indirect Aggression scale (DIAS). Finland: Abo

Akademi University, Department of Social Sciences. 1992. Available From: http://vinst.umdnj.edu/VAID/

Testdata.asp?Code=DIAS.

Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. The NSDUH Report: Violent Behaviors among Adolescent

Females. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 2009.

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th Ed.)

Available From: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1994-97698-000.

Sharma MK, Marimuthu P. Prevalence and psychosocial factors of aggression among youth. Indian J Psychol

Med 2014; 36(1): 48-53. Available From: http://www.ijpm.info/article.asp?issn=0253-7176;year=2014;vol

ume=36;issue=1;spage=48;epage=53;aulast=Sharma [PubMed/ Google Scholar].

The World Health Report 2001. Mental health: New understanding, new hope. Geneva: World Health

Organization 2001; 39-44.

Terburg D, Morgan B, van Honk J. The testosteronecortisol ratio: A hormonal marker for proneness to social

aggression. Int J Law Psychiatry 2009; 32(4): 216-223. Available From: https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.

edu.documents/45756303/The_testosteronecortisol_ratio_A_hormon20160518-10626-13b8osi.

pdf?response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DThe_testosterone_cortisol_ratio_A_

hormon.pdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMACSHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53

UL3A%2F20191125%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20191125T071320Z&X-Amz-

Expires=3600&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=89ca1cf7c1e345795f4e0d9fe5abb772cde1

ddf97c64c4b14a70dfe6a840e [PubMed/ Google Scholar].

Hermans EJ, Ramsey NF, Van Honk J. Exogenous testosterone enhances responsiveness to social

threat in the neural circuitry of social aggression in humans. Biol Psychiatry 2008; 63(3): 263-270. Available

From: https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/45756304/Exogenous_testosterone_

enhances_responsi20160518-12111-frcv7c.pdf?response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20

filename%3DExogenous_Testosterone_Enhances_Responsi.pdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMACSHA256&

X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A%2F20191125%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_

request&X-Amz-Date=20191125T071555Z&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Si

gnature=7d093019a4686c2e47e930917eb146d0093ab6f172b62c3c0d5c98f21b39b8ac [PubMed/ Google

Scholar].

Mehta PH, Beer J. Neural mechanisms of the testosterone aggression relation: the role of orbitofrontal

cortex. J Cogn Neurosci 2010; 22(10): 2357-2368. Available From: https://www.mitpressjournals.

org/doi/abs/10.1162/jocn.2009.21389?rfr_dat=cr_pub%3Dpubmed&url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_

id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&journalCode=jocn [PubMed/ Google Scholar/ ResearchGate].

Kreuz LE, Rose RM. Assessment of aggressive behavior and plasma testosterone in a young criminal population. Psychosom Med 1972; 34(4): 321-332. Available From: https://insights.ovid.com/psychosomatic-medicine/psme/1972/07/000/assessment-aggressive-behaviorplasma-testosterone/6/00006842 [PubMed/ Google Scholar].

Card NA, Stucky BD, Sawalani GM, Little TD. Direct and Indirect aggression during childhood and adolescence: a meta-analytic review of gender differences, intercorrelations, and relations to maladjustment. Child Dev 2008;79(5): 1185-1229. Available From: https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-

2008.01184.x [PubMed/ Google Scholar]

Kumari S, Kishore J and Mandal RK. A cross-sectional study of Aggression among school adolescents in

Karnatake. India Ind J Youth Adol Health 2017; 4(4): 4-9. Available From: http://iaah1992.org/upload/

researchandpublication/1547281446.pdf [DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/2349.2880.201728/ Google Scholar].

Tremblay RE, Nagin DS, Séguin JR, Zoccolillo M, Zelazo PD, Boivin M et al. Physical aggression during early

childhood: Trajectories and predictors. Pediatrics 2004;114: e43‑50. [PubMed/ Google Scholar].

Garg I, Sethi S, Kishore J. The Prevalence and Patterns of Aggression in School Adolescents in a Rural

Area of Moga District of Punjab, India. Ind J Youth Adol Health 2018; 5(1): 43-46. [DOI: https://doi.

org/10.24321/2349.2880.201805/ Google Scholar].

Datta PP, Firdoush KA. Association of aggression with socio-demographic characteristics: a cross-sectional

study among rural adolescents. Natl J Med Res 2012; 2(4): 442-447.

Jain K, Sharma S, Prajna SC, Jain V. Influences of Gender, Religion, Dietary Patterns, and Mixed-sex Education

on Aggressiveness in Children: A Sociodemographic Study in Municipal Primary Schools of South Delhi.

Indian J Public Health 2018; 62(1): 21-26. Available from: http://www.ijph.in/article.asp?issn=0019-557X;

year=2018;volume=62;issue=1;spage=21;epage=26;aulast=Jain [PubMed/ Google Scholar].

Published
2020-01-23