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The impact of aggression and depression on adolescents' psychosocial adjustment
Author
Malar Palaiyan
Supervisor
Ang, Rebecca P.
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the nature of aggression and depression, specifically their impact on adolescent psychosocial adjustment. A review of literature indicated that research in the areas of adolescent depression and adolescent aggression have been kept independent and separate. Research on individuals with comorbid aggression and depression, together with psychosocial variables such as interpersonal relations, relations with parents and self-esteem was limited. The relationship between self-esteem and aggression, as well as self-esteem and depression was not conclusive either. The same was true for gender and self-esteem.
The participants were 260 students from seventeen classes from a single Secondary school. The sample consisted of 132 boys and 128 girls, from three academic groups. Fourteen teachers were also asked to provide information about the adolescents. The Self-Report of Personality for adolescents (SRP-A) and Teacher Rating Scales (TRS) from the Behaviour Assessment System for Children (BASC, Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1992) and the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ, Buss & Warren, 2000) were used to measure the following variables : depression, aggression, interpersonal relations, relations with parents, and self-esteem.
Several statistical techniques were used to investigate the hypotheses. The main statistical technique was t-tests, though other techniques such as one-way ANOVA and correlations were also employed.
The results of correlational analyses and t-tests showed that depressed adolescents have poorer relations with their parents and poorer interpersonal relations compared to non-depressed adolescents. No significant differences were found between aggressive and depressed adolescents on how they related with parents. Findings indicated that depressed adolescents had lower self-esteem than aggressive adolescents. Additional post-hoc analyses using Tukey's test revealed that the neither depressed nor aggressive group was significantly different from the depressed-only group and the co-morbid aggression-depression group in terms of self-esteem, but not significantly different from the aggressive-only group. It was also found that the aggression-only group and the co-morbid aggression-depression group did not differ significantly on self-esteem scores. No gender differences on self-esteem scores were found. No significant difference was found to exist between depressed and aggressive-depressed adolescents on teacher-rated depression. Similarly, it was found that aggressive and aggressive-depressed adolescents did not differ on teacher-rated aggression.
The research is limited to a school sample from only one secondary school. More emphasis was placed on self-reports, too. Future work involving clinical samples of aggressive and aggressive-depressed sub-group is recommended. Employing interviews and observational methods to supplement questionnaires (such as peer or adult rated) would render the results more reliable.
The participants were 260 students from seventeen classes from a single Secondary school. The sample consisted of 132 boys and 128 girls, from three academic groups. Fourteen teachers were also asked to provide information about the adolescents. The Self-Report of Personality for adolescents (SRP-A) and Teacher Rating Scales (TRS) from the Behaviour Assessment System for Children (BASC, Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1992) and the Aggression Questionnaire (AQ, Buss & Warren, 2000) were used to measure the following variables : depression, aggression, interpersonal relations, relations with parents, and self-esteem.
Several statistical techniques were used to investigate the hypotheses. The main statistical technique was t-tests, though other techniques such as one-way ANOVA and correlations were also employed.
The results of correlational analyses and t-tests showed that depressed adolescents have poorer relations with their parents and poorer interpersonal relations compared to non-depressed adolescents. No significant differences were found between aggressive and depressed adolescents on how they related with parents. Findings indicated that depressed adolescents had lower self-esteem than aggressive adolescents. Additional post-hoc analyses using Tukey's test revealed that the neither depressed nor aggressive group was significantly different from the depressed-only group and the co-morbid aggression-depression group in terms of self-esteem, but not significantly different from the aggressive-only group. It was also found that the aggression-only group and the co-morbid aggression-depression group did not differ significantly on self-esteem scores. No gender differences on self-esteem scores were found. No significant difference was found to exist between depressed and aggressive-depressed adolescents on teacher-rated depression. Similarly, it was found that aggressive and aggressive-depressed adolescents did not differ on teacher-rated aggression.
The research is limited to a school sample from only one secondary school. More emphasis was placed on self-reports, too. Future work involving clinical samples of aggressive and aggressive-depressed sub-group is recommended. Employing interviews and observational methods to supplement questionnaires (such as peer or adult rated) would render the results more reliable.
Date Issued
2002
Call Number
BF724.3.A34 Mal
Date Submitted
2002