Personal Relative Deprivation and Online Aggression in College Students: A Moderated Mediation Model of Revenge Motivation and a Violent Attitude

Abstract

While personal relative deprivation (PRD) is recognized as a potential risk factor for aggression, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are not well understood. This study investigates how revenge motivation mediates the link between PRD and online aggression, as well as how a violent attitude moderates this connection. A total of 1004 college students completed self-reported measures on demographic factors, PRD, online aggression, revenge motivation, and violent attitudes. The findings revealed a positive correlation between PRD and online aggression, with revenge motivation serving as a mediating factor. Additionally, a violent attitude was found to moderate the relationship, indicating that PRD had a stronger association with online aggression in individuals with higher violent attitudes compared to those with lower attitudes.

Keywords

• personal relative deprivation
• online aggression
• violent attitude
• revenge motivation
• social comparisons
• individual differences