Negative emotions, self-control and violent behavior in adolescents: an exploratory study from the perspective of the general strain theory

Abstract

Manifestation of antisocial behavior in adolescence is, to some extent, a normative event. The involvement in activities that refer to crimes, however, when reiterated and/or when violent, represents a developmental problem that deserves studies. In this spectrum, violent school crimes, committed by students, against colleagues and teachers, refer to a type of extreme conduct, in relation to which the effects of a negative school experience - related to bullying - seem more evidently connected, mediated by other experiences and circumstances negative. Based on these considerations, the proposed study will have the general objective of investigating the possible relationships between bullying and antisocial/criminal, violent and non-violent behaviors, with attention to possible personal mediators such as anger and self-control, and social/contextual variables related to the family, the school and age pairs. The theoretical framework adopted for the study will be the general strain theory, which allows us to stipulate the hypothesis that the greater the exposure to bullying the greater the level of anger and frustration; with low self-control, the greater the probability of illegitimate/anti-social coping, including: fights, aggressions and violent crimes. The study is exploratory, descriptive and correlational, for greater familiarity with the theme. The research will be carried out in public schools in the city of Franca, in the interior of São Paulo, with students of both sexes, from the 9th grade of elementary school. These will answer four self-report questionnaires, related to bullying, self-control, anger and social/contextual variables of conduct regulation. The data will be treated statistically, through descriptive and correlational analyzes and, if possible, by linear regression, considering the variable sex. (AU)