The Differences of anger, aggression and bullying amo-Ng adolescents with three diffrerent levels of self esteem

Abstract

Problem. Difficulties associated with the inappropriate expression of anger remain among the most serious problems of parents, educators, and the mental health communities (Feindler, Engel, 2011). Zaborskis and Vareikiene (2015) had found that high prevalence rate of bullying among students in schools encourages to take actions for immediate targeted bullying prevention in Lithuanian schools. Valiune (2014) find out that it is important to analyze personal variables for intervention effectiveness. One of these variable could be the self esteem, however it is a question: will increasing self-esteem, via intervention programs, make positive effects on at-risk behaviors of elementary school students (Anderson, 2011)? Therefore the purpose of the study is to compare anger, aggression, bullying among adolescents with three self esteem levels. Methods. It was used Rosenberg Self esteem scale; Buss and Perry Aggression questionnaire. Bullying was measured by questions: How often do other students bully for You during the month? How often do You bully for someone during the month? 575 adolescents from Lithuania participated in the study (294 boys and 281 girls), aged 13 to 17 (mean age 15.2, SD = 1.1). Results. The lowest self esteem group (boys, girls) had higher scores in anger, hostility and this group had more frequent bullying like a victim compared with the highest self esteem group. The lowest self esteem group (boys, girls) had higher scores in hostility compared with the middle self esteem group. The middle self esteem group (boys) had higher scores in anger and hostility compared with the highest self esteem group. The lowest self esteem group (girls) had higher scores in anger and this group had more frequent bullying like a victim compared with the middle self esteem group. The lowest self esteem group (girls) had higher scores in physical aggression compared with the highest self esteem group.