The relationship between fear of negative evaluation, family function, and adolescents’ aggression: the mediating role of mobile phone addiction and rumination

Abstract

Aggressive behaviour has caused significant damage to the body and mind of teenagers. It is imperative to understand the cause of aggressive behaviour. Therefore, we explored the relationship between family function and fear of negative evaluations and aggression. A total of 2929 college students aged 16–29 years who completed the questionnaires were included in the analysis. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to evaluate the associations between family function and fear of negative evaluations and aggression. Correlational analyses revealed that aggressive behaviours were associated with the family function, fear of negative evaluations, rumination, and mobile phone addiction (P < 0.01). The Family APGAR index was negatively associated with aggressive behaviour (β = -0.15, P < 0.01). The relationship between family APGAR index and aggressive behaviour could be explained by the mediating effects of rumination (indirect effect: β = -0.09, P < 0.01) and mobile phone addiction (indirect effect: β = -0.06, P < 0.01). Fear of negative evaluation could significantly predict aggressive behaviour. Fear of negative evaluation was positively associated with aggressive behaviour (β = 0.07, P < 0.01). The relationship between fear of negative evaluation and aggressive behaviour could be explained by the mediating effect of rumination (indirect effect: β = 0.10, P < 0.01) and mobile phone addiction (indirect effect: β = 0.10, P < 0.01). The findings of this study suggested that there was a significant association between family function and fear of negative evaluation and aggression, and these associations were mediated by cell phone addiction and rumination.