Characterization of aggressive behaviour and psychosocial variables in a sample of adolescents from the city of Bucaramanga and its metropolitan área.

Abstract

Introduction: Aggression is a variable that has been associated with social and clinical problems; at the same time, an increase in it has been estimated, denoting a higher risk in the child-adolescent population. Objective: To describe the characteristics of aggressive behavior and associated psychosocial variables (type of family relationships and personal history), in a sample of 351 adolescents between 12 and 17 years of age from the city of Bucaramanga and its metropolitan area. Method: It is a quantitative investigation of transversal descriptive scope. An “Ad hoc” Questionnaire and the Premeditated and Impulsive Aggression Questionnaire in Adolescents (Andreu, 2010) were used, which were self-administered from a non-probabilistic sampling. The results were obtained through the SPSS statistical program, performing a statistical analysis of measures of central tendency and Chi square. Results: It was identified that aggressiveness is frequent in adolescents, especially of the impulsive type (33 %), and predominantly in women (premeditated = 25,4 %; impulsive = 37,3 %). Adolescents with high impulsive aggressiveness were characterized by younger age (12 years = 7,7 %) and lower academic level (seventh grade or less = 14,8 %). In a generic way, those who had high aggressiveness, had a distant emotional and physical relationship with the father, and a history of having had problems with others for exerting aggression. Conclusion: The findings verify the frequency of aggressiveness in adolescence, and lead to reflect on possible changes in social roles on the expression of emotions. It is essential to study the relationship of aggressiveness with impulsivity, age, and relationship dynamics with parents, in order to provide greater contributions in the development of strategies for the prevention of dysfunctional behavior associated with aggressiveness.