Adolescent students' beliefs about aggression and the association between beliefs and reported level of aggression: A study of senior high school students in Ghana

Abstract

This study examines the gender differences among Ghanaian adolescent students' beliefs about aggression and its association with their reported level of aggression. A total of 800 students selected from eight same-sex senior high schools participated in the study. It was hypothesized that male and female students will score high on the instrumental and expressive beliefs of aggression respectively. Instrumental belief will be positively related to reported level of aggression while expressive belief will relate negatively with reported level of aggression. The EXPAGG (Revised) Questionnaire and the Fuch's Questionnaire on levels of aggression were the instruments used. It was found that male students scored high on the instrumental belief scale and female students on the expressive belief scale. Instrumental beliefs about aggression correlated positively with reported levels of aggression while expressive beliefs about aggression correlated negatively with reported levels of aggression. The study adds to our understanding of the relationship between beliefs and levels of aggression by considering it in a non-western culture.