The relationship between neuroticism and social aggression: a moderated mediation model.

Neuroticism appears to be a factor that triggers social aggression, but the relationship between neuroticism and social aggression and its underlying mechanisms is unclear. Questionnaire data from 942 college students ranging in age from 17 to 24 (Mage = 20.33, SD = 1.03) were analysed to assess whether depression symptoms mediated the relationship between neuroticism and social aggression, and to test a moderating effect of perceived social support. Results showed that neuroticism positively predicted social aggression and this association was mediated by depression symptoms. Moderation was found for the association between neuroticism and depression symptoms, as well as between neuroticism and social aggression, and that neuroticism had a stronger predictive effect on depression symptoms and social aggression under low compared to high perceived social support. These findings may inform prevention and intervention efforts to reduce social aggression.

The mediating role of hostile attribution bias in social exclusion affecting aggressive behavior.

Aggression is one of the public social issues affecting campus harmony and stability, and social exclusion is an important interpersonal contextual factor among many factors affecting aggression. However, studies examining the influence of social exclusion on aggression and its mediating mechanism are not systematic enough. Based on the general aggression model (GAM), we intend to explore the role of hostile attribution bias (HAB) in both trait and state levels of social exclusion, which leads to aggression through a combination of questionnaire and experimental methods. Study 1 surveyed 388 current high school students (Mage = 16.09, SD = 1.01) and found that HAB mediates the relationship between long-term social exclusion (trait level) and aggression tendency. Study 2 experimented with 181 high school students (Mage = 16.95, SD = 1.13) to examine whether short-term social exclusion (state level) after initiating the Cyberball paradigm could still influence aggressive behavior through the mediating role of HAB. Results found that the mediating role of HAB still holds. The findings of the study further enrich the GAM and have important implications for a more targeted approach to aggression prevention and intervention.

Longitudinal relations between bullying victimization and aggression: The multiple mediation effects of anger rumination and hostile automatic thoughts.

Bullying victimization is widely accepted to be associated with aggression. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unknown. To examine the long-term impact of bullying victimization on aggression, the present study tested the potential mediating effects of both anger rumination and hostile automatic thoughts. A total of 809 undergraduates from four universities across China (74.80% female; Mage = 19.63 years, SD = 0.82 years) completed the survey on three occasions, with a 6-month delay between Time 1 and Time 2 and a 1-year interval between Time 2 and Time 3. A cross-lagged model of anger rumination and hostile automatic thoughts was developed to test whether they predicted one another, and two structural models were constructed to test their mediating roles in bullying victimization and aggression. Findings indicated that anger rumination and hostile automatic thoughts are mutually predictable; the correlation between bullying victimization and aggression is mediated independently by anger rumination and hostile automatic thoughts, and the chain mediation of bullying victimization predicting aggression first through anger rumination and then through hostile automatic thinking was established. In addition, an alternative mediation model is also significant, with hostile automatic thoughts as the primary mediator and anger rumination as the secondary mediator. These results highlight the significance of anger rumination and hostile automatic thoughts in the long-term effects of bullying victimization on aggression. Interventions designed to reduce undergraduate students' anger rumination and hostile automatic thoughts may help reduce their aggression.

Effects of Bicultural Identity Integration and National Identity on COVID-19-Related Anxiety Among Ethnic Minority College Students: The Mediation Role of Power Values.

PURPOSE: The current study investigated the association between bicultural identity integration (BII, incorporating BII-harmony and BII-blendedness), national identity, and anxiety related to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among ethnic minority college students. In addition, this research examined the mediation role of power values in the relationship between BII, national identity, and COVID-19-related anxiety. METHODS: This cross-sectional research design made use of online surveys. Using convenience sampling, participants comprised 235 Chinese ethnic minority college students drawn from four colleges in the ethnic minority autonomous regions of China. Data were collected during June 2020. Participants mainly lived in ethnic minority communities or villages in southwest China before receiving higher education at urban campuses. RESULTS: Correlation analysis revealed that BII-harmony, BII-blendedness, and national identity were significantly negatively correlated with COVID-19-related anxiety. Mediation model analysis showed that power values were significantly positively correlated with COVID-19-related anxiety. Power values play a mediating role in the relationship between BII-harmony, national identity, and COVID-19-related anxiety, and have an inhibitory effect on this relationship. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that BII-harmony and national identity could have the function of protecting ethnic minority college students from COVID-19-related anxiety. Emphasizing individualistic personal power values could increase COVID-19-related anxiety, whereas a collectivist identity reduces anxiety. These findings could provide another perspective on psychological interventions to reduce anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Longitudinal relationships among interpersonal openness trait, hostile attribution bias, and displaced aggressive behaviour: Big Five treated as covariates.

Displaced aggressive behaviour is associated with many negative outcomes. Although certain personality traits predict displaced aggressive behaviour, the uniquely longitudinal effect of indigenous interpersonal traits on displaced aggressive behaviour is ignored. To address this gap, we explored the longitudinal relationship among an indigenously interpersonal trait of China (interpersonal openness), hostile attribution bias, and self-reported displaced aggressive behaviour. Additionally, we tested whether hostile attribution bias mediated the relationship between interpersonal openness and self-reported displaced aggressive behaviour. The Interpersonal Self-Support Scale for Undergraduate Students, Word Sentence Association Paradigm for Hostility, Displaced Aggression Questionnaire, and the NEO Personality Inventory-3 were administered to 942 undergraduates on two occasions, 6 months apart. A cross-lagged model showed that, after controlling for the Big Five personality traits, interpersonal openness predicted subsequent hostile attribution bias, and hostile attribution bias predicted self-reported displaced aggressive behaviour 6 months later. Hostile attribution bias at time 2 mediated the relationship between interpersonal openness at time 1 and self-reported displaced aggressive behaviour at time 2. These results were consistent with the interpersonal self-support theory's appraisals of interpersonal openness, and they extended the social information processing and general aggression models to explain displaced aggressive behaviour.

Hostile Attribution Bias and Anger Rumination Sequentially Mediate the Association Between Trait Anger and Reactive Aggression.

Reactive aggression is a type of aggression that has severe consequences in individual's psychosocial development and social stability. Trait anger is a risk personality factor for reactive aggression. However, the mediating mechanism of this relationship has not been sufficiently analyzed. We proposed that hostile attribution bias and anger rumination may be cognitive factors that play mediating roles in the relationship between trait anger and reactive aggression. To test this hypothesis, a sample of 600 undergraduates (51.67% females, M age = 20.51, SD = 1.11) participated in this study. Findings showed that hostile attribution bias, anger rumination sequentially mediated the association between trait anger and reactive aggression. These results highlight the importance of anger rumination and hostile attribution bias to explain the link between trait anger and reactive aggression in undergraduates. The findings of the present study also provide valuable information about the role of negative cognitive activities (e.g., hostile attribution, ruminate in anger emotion) in high trait anger individual may trigger reactive aggression. The limitations of the study are discussed, along with suggestions for future research.

The Importance of Ethnicity: Developing a Measure of Minority Ethnic Value and Value-Expressive Behavior Among Chinese Ethnic Minorities.

In this study we developed the Chinese Minority Ethnic Value Questionnaire (CMEVQ) and the Chinese Minority Ethnic Value-Expressive Behavior Questionnaire (CMEVEBQ) to assess the importance of ethnicity from the standpoint of diverse ethnic values and behavioral manifestations. Drawing on self-construal theory, social identity theory, and value theory, we conducted a review of literature, in-depth interviews, semi-structured questionnaires, and expert reviews. A total of 18 items for the CMEVQ and CMEVEBQ were developed. Data were collected from three samples of Chinese ethnic minorities (mainly college students). We generated two sets of item pools from the pilot sample (n = 438). Then we examined the dimensions and final items of the CMEVQ and CMEVEBQ using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with sample 1 (n = 665). After that, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to recheck the factor structure of two refined, mutually matched, yet independent scales obtained from Study 1 with sample 2 (n = 1309); meanwhile criterion-related, K-means cluster, t-tests, and multiple regression analyses were used to test the validity of and relationship between the CMEVQ and CMEVEBQ. Results showed that the multidimensional constructs with six shared first-order factors (Minority Ethnic Consciousness, Exploration, Involvement, Alienation, Inheritance, and Mastery) demonstrated a better fit for the data and supported the conceptual framework. Both questionnaires demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and ecological validity. That is, as practical, psychometrically sound measures, the CMEVQ and CMEVEBQ can be used to measure the importance of ethnicity for Chinese ethnic minorities. They also extend the content and sample fields of value research.

Brain structure links trait hostile attribution bias and attitudes toward violence.

The majority of research regarding hostile attribution bias focuses on its effect on aggression. However, little is known about the brain structure associated with trait hostile attribution bias and the mediating mechanism underlying this link. The current study uses voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to identify the brain regions related to individual differences in trait hostile attribution bias, measured by a Word Sentence Association Paradigm - Hostility in a sample of 176 undergraduate students. Subsequently, two mediation models with regard to brain structure, trait hostile attribution bias, and attitudes toward violence (measured by the Attitudes toward Violence Scale) were analyzed. The results reveal that trait hostile attribution bias is positively correlated with gray matter volume (GMV) in the left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and negatively associated with the left lingual gyrus (LG). Furthermore, attitudes toward violence acted as a mediator underlying the association between the left OFC volume and trait hostile attribution bias. Such bias also mediated the relationship between the left OFC and attitudes toward violence. We argue that attitudes toward violence and trait hostile attribution bias seem to predict each other, and the GMV in the left OFC may involve the underlying cognitive mechanism of the bidirectional relationship between the two variables. These results and ideas may shed light on the current understanding of the relationships of the brain's anatomical features, attitudes toward violence, and trait hostile attribution bias.