| Abstract [eng] |
Background: Adolescent aggression is associated with emotional and social difficulties and can be a predictor of future violent behaviour in adulthood. Both child maltreatment and peer violence can contribute to the development of aggressive behaviour during adolescence. However, not all abused adolescents display aggressive tendencies. Those who are able to withstand the adverse effects of violence are deemed resilient. This study aims to investigate the interrelations among parental and peer violence, aggressive behaviour, and resilience during adolescence. Methods: The study included adolescents aged 14-17 years from the general population of Lithuania (N = 141; 49.6% female). Lifetime abuse exposure measures (Hafstad & Augusti, 2019) included parent psychological abuse, physical abuse, neglect and exposure to bullying. Aggressive behaviour was evaluated using the Aggression Scale (Orpin & Frankowski, 2001), and resilience was assessed using the Child & Youth Resilience Measure-Revised (CYRM-R) (Jefferies et al., 2018). Results: The comparison of mean aggression scores, as well as correlation analyses, revealed that adolescents exposed to both family and peer violence show higher levels of aggressive behaviour. Logistic regression analyses indicated that neglect and concurrent parent physical and psychological abuse were the most accurate predictors of aggressive behaviour among all types of violence. Furthermore, comparisons of resilience estimates and correlation analyses revealed that resilience resulting from family support is negatively affected by all forms of abuse. In contrast, personal resilience appears to be less affected by exposure to parental and peer violence. A moderating effect of resilience was observed concerning the relationship between experiences of abuse and aggressive behaviour in adolescence. This suggests that despite facing challenges, children can develop resilience and reduce negative outcomes, such as a tendency towards aggression. |
