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Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos del Principado de Asturias).
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Aggressive behavior in adolescence as a predictor of personal, family, and school adjustment problems

Estefanía Estévez1 Teresa I. Jiménez2, and David Moreno3

1 Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche,
2 Universidad de Zaragoza, and
3 Universidad Pablo de Olavide

Background: The goal of the present study was to determine the extent to which aggressive behavior towards peers predicts greater personal, school, and family maladjustment in adolescent aggressors of both sexes. Method: The sample consisted of 1510 Spanish adolescents from 12 to 17 years old, who anonymously and voluntarily completed self-report questionnaires. Results: Binary Logistic regression analysis showed that, regarding personal adjustment, aggressive behavior was significantly associated with high scores in depressive symptomatology, perceived stress and loneliness, and low scores in self-esteem, life satisfaction and empathy, for both sexes. In the school setting, aggressive behavior was related to low scores in academic engagement, friends in the classroom, perception of teacher support, and a positive attitude towards school. At the family level, significant relationships were observed between aggressive behavior and high scores in offensive communication and family conflict, and low scores in open communication with parents, general expressiveness, and family cohesion. Conclusions: In cases of peer violence it is necessary to give urgent attention to all those involved, since maladjustment in aggressors can be predicted in many levels of intervention.

Conducta agresiva en la adolescencia como predictor de problemas de ajuste personal, familiar y escolar. Antecedentes: el objetivo del presente estudio fue determinar en qué medida la conducta agresiva hacia los iguales predice un mayor desajuste personal y escolar en los adolescentes agresores de ambos sexos. Método: la muestra se compuso por 1.510 adolescentes españoles de entre 12 y 17 años, que completaron de forma anónima y voluntaria escalas de autoinforme. Resultados: los análisis de regresión logística binaria mostraron que, en relación con el ajuste personal, el comportamiento agresivo predice significativamente y para ambos sexos altas puntuaciones en sintomatología depresiva, estrés percibido y soledad, y bajas puntuaciones en autoestima, satisfacción vital y empatía. En el ámbito escolar, la conducta agresiva se relacionó con bajas puntuaciones en implicación académica, afiliación con los compañeros, percepción de apoyo del profesor y actitud positiva hacia la escuela. En el ámbito familiar, se observaron relaciones significativas entre el comportamiento agresivo y altas puntuaciones en comunicación ofensiva y conflicto familiar, y puntuaciones bajas en comunicación abierta con los padres, expresividad general y cohesión familiar. Conclusiones: en los casos de violencia entre iguales, se necesita prestar una atención urgente a todos los implicados, pues en los agresores se puede establecer un pronóstico de desajuste en múltiples niveles de intervención.

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