Presenting Aggression Model Based on Emotional Intelligence, Emotion Regulation, Communication Skills, Self-Efficacy, and Parental Performance Mediated by Ambivalent Attachment Style in High School Female Adolescents

Aggression is among the most common problems in adolescence and can cause psychosocial and behavioral issues in individuals. A social problem in different societies is behavioral and psychological abnormalities and coping with them. Mental health, prognostication, and treating behavioral abnormalities are of significance. Studies indicated that a minor problem that requires preliminary awareness and the efforts of family and school becomes an acute condition over time. International research on aggression suggested that aggression among Asian adolescents is lower than Hispanics and Americans and has no significant gender-wise difference. According to research conducted in Iran, aggression among adolescents is 30%-50%. Aggression is among the main problems in children and adolescents and one of the most critical reasons for referring them to counseling and psychotherapy centers. Aggressive behaviors are crucial social problems in any society, especially in adolescence. Aggressive behaviors in adolescence can lead to academic difficulties and incompatibility in school, psychological issues (e.g., depression & anxiety), and an anomaly in social behavior and delinquency. Thus, it is critical to identify the factors affecting aggression to design a comprehensive program to reduce this behavioral problem. This study aimed to present an aggression model in adolescents based on Emotional Intelligence (EI), Emotion Regulation (ER), Communication Skills (CSs), self-efficacy, and Parental Performance (PP) mediated by ambivalent attachment style.

This correlational study used structural equation modeling. The study's statistical population consisted of all female students in secondary school in Tehran City, Iran, 2019-2020. Of them, 150880 subjects were selected by cluster sampling method. First, from the 22 districts of Tehran, district 4 was chosen from districts 4 of districts 2, 5, 7, and 9, and from each district, one school and three classes (per grade) were selected as the statistical sample. Accordingly, 392 students were selected. After reviewing the data and removing the confounding questionnaires, 384 were examined. The inclusion criteria included female gender, the age range of 15-17 years, no serious physical problems and defects based on the checklist prepared by the researcher (medical records review), no psychological problems, such as depression, aggression, and anxiety, no substance dependence, no use of psychoactive drugs (based on medical records review), living with both parents, and obtaining participants' and their parents' satisfaction. The exclusion criteria were biopsychological problems, substance use, and unwillingness to continue attending the study. The instruments used in the study were Aggression Questionnaire (Bass and Perry, 1991), Emotional Intelligence Test (Bar-on, 1980), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross & John, 2003), Communication Skills Questionnaire (Monajemizadeh, 2012), Self-Efficacy Scale (Scherer & Maddox, 1982), Attachment Style Scale (Hausen Shaver, 1987), and Family Performance Questionnaire (Epstein et al., 1983). Data analysis was based on the structural equation modeling technique.

The obtained results suggested that EI (β=-0.42, p<0.001), ER (β=-0.39, p<0.001), CSs (β=-0.37, p<0.001), self-efficacy (β= 0.43, p<0.001), and PP (β=-0.45, p<0.001), negatively and inversely impacted aggression. According to the final model's fitting data, fit indicators were obtained for Chi-squared. The RMSEA=0.015, GFI=0.95, AGFI=0.93, Bentler-Bonnet index=0.98 NFI, and IFI=0.94, indicated that the model had good fitness.

According to the present study findings, the proposed model of aggression in adolescents based on EI, ER, CSs, self-efficacy, and PP mediated by ambivalent attachment style has sufficient fitness.