Su Xiaojie, Li Wenjie, Hu Changsheng, Liu Huimin, Lian Rong
School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.
Normal School, Urumqi Vocational University, Urumqi, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2024 Dec 20;15:1484340. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1484340. eCollection 2024.
Adolescent aggression poses a significant threat to mental health and social functioning. This study investigated the underlying mechanisms of reactive and proactive aggression in Chinese adolescents, focusing on the roles of executive dysfunction, impulsivity, and sex. We hypothesized that executive dysfunction would predict both reactive and proactive aggression, with impulsivity mediating these relationships. Furthermore, we explored the moderating role of sex in the association between impulsivity and both types of aggression.
A longitudinal design with a 1-year follow-up was employed. The sample comprised 617 middle school students (mean age = 15.26 years at Time 2; 59% male). Participants completed self-report questionnaires at two time points (T1: April 2023; T2: April 2024): the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ), the Teenage Executive Functioning Inventory (TEXI), and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS).
Executive dysfunction at T1 significantly predicted both proactive and reactive aggression at T2. Impulsivity at T2 partially mediated the relationship between executive dysfunction at T1 and both proactive and reactive aggression at T2. Sex moderated the relationship between impulsivity and aggression. Specifically, impulsivity at T2 significantly predicted proactive aggression at T2 only in male adolescents. Impulsivity at T2 significantly predicted reactive aggression at T2 in both male and female adolescents, with a stronger effect observed in males.
Our findings suggest that executive dysfunction contributes to adolescent aggression both directly and indirectly through increased impulsivity. Sex plays a moderating role, with male adolescents demonstrating greater vulnerability to the influence of impulsivity on aggression. These results underscore the importance of considering executive function, impulsivity, and sex in the development of interventions to prevent and reduce adolescent aggression.
青少年攻击行为对心理健康和社会功能构成重大威胁。本研究调查了中国青少年反应性攻击和主动性攻击的潜在机制，重点关注执行功能障碍、冲动性和性别的作用。我们假设执行功能障碍会预测反应性攻击和主动性攻击，冲动性在这些关系中起中介作用。此外，我们探讨了性别在冲动性与两种攻击类型之间关联中的调节作用。
采用为期1年随访的纵向设计。样本包括617名中学生（时间2时的平均年龄 = 15.26岁；59%为男性）。参与者在两个时间点（T1：2023年4月；T2：2024年4月）完成了自我报告问卷：反应 - 主动性攻击问卷（RPQ）、青少年执行功能量表（TEXI）和巴拉特冲动性量表（BIS）。
T1时的执行功能障碍显著预测了T2时的主动性攻击和反应性攻击。T2时的冲动性部分中介了T1时的执行功能障碍与T2时的主动性攻击和反应性攻击之间的关系。性别调节了冲动性与攻击之间的关系。具体而言，T2时的冲动性仅在男性青少年中显著预测了T2时的主动性攻击。T2时的冲动性在男性和女性青少年中均显著预测了T2时的反应性攻击，在男性中观察到的效应更强。
我们的研究结果表明，执行功能障碍通过增加冲动性直接和间接地导致青少年攻击行为。性别起调节作用，男性青少年在冲动性对攻击的影响方面表现出更大的易感性。这些结果强调了在制定预防和减少青少年攻击行为的干预措施时考虑执行功能、冲动性和性别的重要性。
