The Association between Normative Beliefs Approving Aggression and Overt Aggressive Behavior in Vietnamese adolescents: A short-term longitudinal study

In Vietnam, school violence is a serious problem, yet little is known about the factors explaining this phenomenon. The current study looked at the role of normative beliefs approving aggression in the development of overt aggressive behavior. Using a short-term longitudinal design with three waves (four-month interval), this study examined the associations between normative beliefs approving aggression and overt aggressive behavior in a sample of Vietnamese adolescents. The sample included 632 participants at Wave 1 (51.4% boys, Mage = 13.00, SD = 0.85), 567 participants at Wave 2 (50.8% boys, Mage = 13.36, SD = 0.90) and 530 participants at Wave 3 (49.8% boys, Mage = 13.62, SD = 0.87). All variables were measured using self-report questionnaire. Within waves, normative beliefs approving aggression were positively related to overt aggressive behavior. More importantly, cross lagged panel analysis revealed that the normative beliefs predicted increases in overt aggressive behavior over time.status: publishe