Mediating Roles of Problem-Focused and Emotion-Focused Coping Styles Between Adverse Life Events and Aggression

Abstract

Stressful or adverse life events play a role in the development of concurrent or subsequent aggressive behavior. Moreover, coping strategies determine how to react when faced with adverse events. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating roles of coping styles in the relationship between adverse life events and aggression among university students. Three hundred sixteen university students, 213 (67%) female, and 103 (33%) male, participated in this study. The Demographic Information Form, Life Experiences Survey, Coping Style Scale, and Aggression Inventory were applied for data collection. The results showed that males had higher aggression scores than females. Individuals who experienced more adverse life events were more likely to use an emotion-focused coping style and had higher aggression levels than those who experienced more positive life events. When the effects of age and gender were controlled, both emotion-focused and problem-focused coping styles had partial parallel mediating roles in the relationship between adverse life events and aggression. The findings reveal that experiencing adverse life events and using more emotion-focused coping style had a role in increasing aggression, while using problem-focused coping style had a role in reducing aggression. Overall, the findings of this study have important implications for guiding mental health professionals working with university students by showing that the development of effective coping styles for those who experience adverse life events should be supported.

Keywords

• adverse life events
• problem-focused coping
• stress
• aggression