Impulsividad y autoestima en relación con la violencia escolar en adolescentes

Abstract

Introduction School violence during adolescence has become a worldwide major issue so, try to find out which factors are associated with its generation or perpetuation can be important to control and manage it. In relation to this, it has been seen that some sociodemographic characteristics and traits of adolescence, such as impulsiveness, self-esteem or attitudes towards violence, can be associated with aggressiveness and violent school behaviors. Objectives One objective of this work is to analyze the psychometric properties of the Rosenberg's Scale of Self-esteem and its possible bifactorial model. On the other hand, we want to study if there is any relation between some sociodemographic characteristics and self-esteem, impulsivity or attitudes toward violence, and the possible association with them and aggressiveness in adolescents. Material, methods and results This Doctoral Thesis is part of a larger project and is composed of four cross-sectional studies, that follow the STROBE criteria. The sample was obtained form four Secondary Education Centers in the Region of Murcia randomly chosen. In the first of the studies we administered the Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale to 508 adolescents. We carried out an exploratory and confirmatory analysis and, in both of them, we detected the possible existence of a bifactorial model composed by Positive and Negative Self-Esteem. For the second study, we administered to 453 adolescents a questionnaire formed by: The Barratts's Impulsiveness Scale, the Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale and the factor of Attitude Towards Violence to improve self-esteem. We found an association between last quarter grade and the variables of the study. We also detected positive correlations between Negative Self-esteem, all types of impulsiveness and the Attitude Towards Violence to Improve Self-esteem, and a negative correlation between Motor Impulsivity and Positive Self-esteem. In the third study, we administered to 904 adolescents a questionnaire formed by: The Barratt's Impulsiveness Scale and the Questionnaire of Attitudinal Beliefs Towards Violence. We found statistically significant differences in favor of boys in all factors of attitudes towards violence and positive correlations between them and Motor Impulsivity. Our results also showed significant differences in terms of academic performance, in favor of those who had lower grades in the last quarter, both for Motor Impulsivity and for the different factors of attitudes towards violence. In the fourth and last study, we administered to 513 adolescents a questionnaire formed by: The Barratt's Impusiveness Scale, the Questionnaire of Attitudinal Beliefs Towards Violence and the Scale of Violent Conduct in the School of LISIS group. The results showed significant differences due to sex and age, and a strong relationship between aggressive behavior and the Attitude Towards Violence Perceived as Legitimate Defense and Towards Violence Used to Handle Social Problems and Relationships. Conclusion Know that factors such as Motor Impulsivity or Self-esteem may be associated with attitudes towards violence and aggressiveness in adolescents can help us to understand the problem and to develop strategies that try to reduce school violence. Likewise, realize that some sociodemographic characteristics such as sex, age or last quarter grade are linked with the studied variables also aid to understand them better.