Anger and Aggression as correlates of Depression in South African Adolescents.

Gary Elliott

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Master's Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject Psychology - Developmental Psychology, ( Atlantic International University ), c...

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Master's Thesis from the year 2013 in the subject Psychology - Developmental Psychology, ( Atlantic International University ), course: Master of Psychology, language: English, abstract: The primary objective for this study was to conduct an empirical investigation to gather information in the form of data from adolescent males and females in the Pretoria region of South Africa. Information was gathered with respects to their level of physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger, hostility and depression. The information was used to identify whether correlations exist between the three variables anger, aggression and depression for South African adolescents. A literature study was conducted and the following hypotheses were developed for this study: I. Males are more likely to engage in physical aggression than females. II. Males and females are equally likely to engage in verbal aggression. III. Males are more likely to experience feelings of anger towards others. IV. Females are more likely to experience feelings of hostility towards others. V. Males and females are equally likely to report feelings of depression. VI. Rates of physical aggression are higher in younger adolescent males than older adolescent males. VII. The expressions of verbal aggression in females are constant throughout adolescence. VIII. There is a significant positive correlation between feelings of anger and expressions of aggression. IX. There is a significant positive correlation between feelings of anger and feelings of depression. X. There is a significant negative correlation between physical aggression and feelings of depression. The quantitative data gathered came from the completion of a structured questionnaire comprising four distinct sections: demographic information, the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ), the Anger Questionnaire (AQ) and the Choate Depression Inventory for Children (CDIC). The questionnaire was administered to Grade 7-12 pupils (aged 12-19 years old) in an independent school in Pretoria. The sample group was randomly selected and yielded 243 completed questionnaires. The data was coded and entered into the Moon Stats statistical programme for analysis; affording the opportunity to generate both univariate and bivariate statistics in conjunction with the calculation of Pearson product moment correlations. Analysis of the data yielded the following results: More males than females recorded 'medium' levels of physical aggression at 58% to 42% respectively; this trend remains for 'high' levels on this section, with males recording 66% against 34% for females.