Association between anxiety and aggression in adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between anxiety proneness and aggressive behavior in adolescents. Methods A quantitative, large scale cross-sectional study was conducted in Korea. The survey questionnaire included general health behavior and scales for assessing anxiety (Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale; RCMAS) and aggressive behavior (The Aggression Questionnaire; AQ) in adolescents. Results A total of 2432 students participated in the survey, and 1933 individuals completed the questionnaire, indicating a response rate of 79.5%. Based on RCMAS, 163 (8.4%) subjects were classified as the anxiety group. Aggressive behavior was significantly associated with higher anxiety scores. In particular, among four subdomains of aggression, anger and hostility had a stronger relationship with anxiety than did physical and verbal aggression. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that anxiety was independently associated with gender, age, headache, constipation, asthma, and aggression score. Adolescents with total aggression scores of 69 or higher showed a 9-fold (AOR = 9.00, CI = 6.33–13.51) higher risk of anxiety compared to those with under 69. Conclusion Aggression and anxiety are important aspects of mental health in adolescents. Our results demonstrated that higher risk of anxiety was associated with total aggression scores. In particular, indirect aggression (i.e. anger and hostility) was more closely associated with anxiety than direct aggression.

Relationship between the Severity of Anxiety Symptoms, Aggression and Alcohol Consumption during the COVID-19 Pandemic Period

“…Moreover, among the surveyed women, significantly higher rates of anger and hostility, two of the four components of generalized aggression, were observed. This is consistent with the majority of global observations [ 35 , 36 ]. However, a study conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in China showed the same severity of anxiety in both women and men [ 37 ], which may contribute to the consideration of intercultural differences or specific situations regarding pandemic and lockdowns.…”

“Stay at Home” in Italy during the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Longitudinal Study on Individual Well-Being among Different Age Groups

“…Often, a lack of self-knowledge, poor coping skills, and a greater sensitivity to being influenced by external events leads to a mismanagement of events and the feeling of losing one's goals [59]. Moreover, some researchers have suggested a strong association between aggression and anxiety [60,61]; it could be hypothesized that having adaptive responses to anxiety to cope with the personal stress caused by restrictive measures can also be useful in dealing with the spread of the epidemic [62][63][64].…”

Association between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and aggression subscales in adolescents

“…Anger and hostility indicate the affective and cognitive facets of aggression, while physical and verbal aggression constitute the (Reyna et al, 2011;Chung et al, 2019). Adolescents with ADHD, unlike children with ADHD, show less hyperactivity and more internal problems, such as frustration and low self-esteem (Cantwell, 1996;Dupaul, 1991;Jeong et al, 2001).…”