Magister Artium - MA (Psychology) / Aggressive behaviour is prevalent in the South African context. This is evident in the high
rates of interpersonal violence including rape, intimate partner violence and homicide. Young
adults appear to be both the main perpetrators and victims of aggressive behaviour.
Normative beliefs about aggression have been identified as a central factor underlying
aggressive behaviour. Normative beliefs refer to an individual's cognitions about the
acceptability of specific behaviours and serve to regulate actions. Despite the identified
salience of normative beliefs in influencing aggressive behaviour, limited research has been
conducted within South Africa on this topic. This study thus investigated normative beliefs
about aggression held by young adults attending university. The study also aims to
investigate whether prior exposure to trauma, self-esteem and demographic factors (e.g. age,
gender and family size) predicted normative beliefs about aggression. Results indicated that
exposure to traumatic events, as well as state self-esteem significantly predicted normative
beliefs about aggression. Gender differences were evident in various subscales. Ethical
approval to conduct this study was obtained by the Senate Higher Degrees Committee of the
University of the Western Cape, as well as the University of the Western Cape registrar.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/6413 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Wagener, Emma Faye |
| Contributors | Padmanabhanunni, Anita |
| Publisher | University of the Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
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