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Correlation of self-concept and self-esteem with aggressiveness
Renata Marčič & Darja Kobal Grum
Full text (pdf) | Views: 79 | Written in Slovene. | Published: January 21, 2010
Abstract: We were interested in the correlation of aggressiveness with independent self-concept, codependent self-concept and level of self-esteem. Some previous research gave contradictory results about correlations between aggressiveness, self-concept and self-esteem. Researchers report of negative correlation, but also of positive and no correlation. One hundred and fifty-eight participants, aged from 19 to 51, with average age of 21 participated in the research. Fifty participants were males and 108 were females. Self-concept was measured with the Adult Sources of Self-Esteem Inventory – ASSEI (Elovson & Fleming, 1989), level of self-esteem with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale – RSES (Rosenberg, 1965) and aggressiveness with The Aggression Questionnaire – AQ (Buss & Perry, 1992). The results showed that aggressiveness is negatively correlated with co-dependent self-concept, but is not correlated with independent self-concept, even if we control for the level of self-esteem. The level of self-esteem is negatively correlated with anger, hostility, and overall aggression, but not with physical and verbal aggression, even if we control for the self-concept. We can conclude that only certain areas of self-concept are relevant in the research of the relationship between self-concept and aggressiveness, and that the level of self-esteem is to be taken into account only in some forms of aggressiveness, like anger and hostility, but not in physical and verbal aggression.
Keywords: self-concept, self-esteem, aggressiveness, anger, hostility