Normative Beliefs and Aggression: The Mediating Roles of Empathy and Anger

Gratitude interventions reduce cyber-aggression in adolescents: gender and disposition effects

The study explores the impact of gender and gratitude disposition on the effectiveness of a classroom-based gratitude intervention aimed at reducing cyber-aggression among Polish adolescents. Cyber-aggression, linked to maladjustment and mental health issues like depression and anxiety, is a growing concern. The intervention involved 548 students, divided into a control group (399) and an experimental group (149), and lasted for seven days. Participants completed the Cyber-aggression Types Questionnaire (CATQ) and a Gratitude Questionnaire. Results showed the intervention effectively reduced overall cyber-aggression, particularly aversive controlled types, but increased appetitive impulsive aggression. Girls responded better to the gratitude exercises, and those with lower gratitude levels saw the most significant reduction in cyber-aggression. However, students with medium levels of gratitude showed increased impulsive and controlled appetitive cyber-aggression. The study concludes that gender and gratitude disposition influence the success of gratitude interventions in reducing cyber-aggression.

Effects of empathy on the bidirectional relationships between problematic smartphone use and aggression among secondary school students: a moderated network approach

Background

Existing literature on the relationship between problematic smartphone use (PSU) and aggression has primarily focused on examining their unidirectional association, with limited attention paid to the bidirectional nature of this relationship, particularly when considering the role of empathy. This study employs a novel moderated network approach to examine the bidirectional relationship between problematic smartphone use and aggression, while also investigating the moderating mechanism of empathy.

Methods

A total of 2,469 students (49.1% female, Mean age = 13.83, SD age = 1.48) from 35 junior and senior high schools in Harbin, China, participated in this study. Empathy level, aggressiveness, and PSU symptoms were assessed using the Basic Empathy Scale, the Buss-Warren Aggression Questionnaire, and the Mobile Phone Addiction Index.

Results

Analysis revealed that the relationship between PSU and aggression was complex and bidirectional. The strongest association was observed between "hostility" and "withdrawal/escape". In addition, "anger" had the highest Expected Influence (EI) in both affective and cognitive moderate network models. An important discovery was also made regarding the conditional effect of "productive loss" and "physical aggression" across different levels of affective empathy. Specifically, at lower levels of affective empathy, a positive bidirectional relationship was found between "productive loss" and "physical aggression". However, this relationship turned negative and bidirectional at higher levels of affective empathy.

Conclusion

The findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamics between PSU and aggression and highlight the need for targeted interventions that promote affective empathy to mitigate the negative consequences of excessive smartphone use.