Perceived social competencies as moderators: examining the relationship between psychological distress and aggression, hostility, and anger in Lebanese adults
Abstract Introduction The majority of people experience anger at some point in their lives when confronted with unpleasant situations. In social settings, anger can lead to aggressive and hostile in the absence of adequate social competences. Our study aims to examine the moderating role of perceive...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-04-01
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| Series: | BMC Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01694-w |
| _version_ | 1797199126282108928 |
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| author | Joya-Maria Karam Zeinab Bitar Diana Malaeb Feten Fekih-Romdhane Souheil Hallit Sahar Obeid |
| author_facet | Joya-Maria Karam Zeinab Bitar Diana Malaeb Feten Fekih-Romdhane Souheil Hallit Sahar Obeid |
| author_sort | Joya-Maria Karam |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Introduction The majority of people experience anger at some point in their lives when confronted with unpleasant situations. In social settings, anger can lead to aggressive and hostile in the absence of adequate social competences. Our study aims to examine the moderating role of perceived social competences in the association between psychological distress and anger expression (trait anger, hostility, physical aggression, and verbal aggression) among a sample of Lebanese adults. Methods 403 participants above 18 years (the mean age was 24.56 ± 8.46) were enrolled in the cross-sectional study with 73% female participants. The candidates were asked to complete a structured questionnaire including the following scales: (1) Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire-Short Form (BPAQ-SF), (2) the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-8), (3) Perceived Social Competencies (PSC), and (4) The De Jong-Gierveld Loneliness Scale. Results The interaction psychological distress by perceived social competence was not significantly associated with physical aggression, verbal aggression, or hostility but was significantly associated with anger. After adjusting the results over variables that showed a p <.25 in the bivariate analysis, this association was significant at low (Beta = 0.24; p <.001), moderate (Beta = 0.20; p <.001) and high (Beta = 0.16; p <.001) levels of perceived social competencies, where higher psychological distress was significantly associated with more anger. On another note, with higher perceived social competence, we find a decrease in levels of psychological distress in our sample. Conclusion This study provided evidence that perceived social competencies such as communication skills, empathy and prosocial behaviors act as moderators in the association between psychological distress and anger. In future works, investigating and building advanced program in order to develop social competences of individuals might prove important. It is crucial to implement such strategies and projects in schools: this educational setting could be fruitful in a way that social skills could be instilled during childhood and anger-aggressive behaviors could be managed throughout adulthood. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T07:10:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6c61420ee14f4a25a16da3ab3df6bec3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-7283 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T07:10:48Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-6c61420ee14f4a25a16da3ab3df6bec32024-04-21T11:34:15ZengBMCBMC Psychology2050-72832024-04-0112111110.1186/s40359-024-01694-wPerceived social competencies as moderators: examining the relationship between psychological distress and aggression, hostility, and anger in Lebanese adultsJoya-Maria Karam0Zeinab Bitar1Diana Malaeb2Feten Fekih-Romdhane3Souheil Hallit4Sahar Obeid5Faculty of Medicine, Lebanese UniversityRennes University, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de recherche en santé, environnement et travail) - UMR_S 1085College of Pharmacy, Gulf Medical UniversityThe Tunisian Center of Early Intervention in Psychosis, Department of Psychiatry “Ibn Omrane”, Razi hospitalSchool of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Holy Spirit University of KaslikSchool of Arts and Sciences, Social and Education Sciences Department, Lebanese American UniversityAbstract Introduction The majority of people experience anger at some point in their lives when confronted with unpleasant situations. In social settings, anger can lead to aggressive and hostile in the absence of adequate social competences. Our study aims to examine the moderating role of perceived social competences in the association between psychological distress and anger expression (trait anger, hostility, physical aggression, and verbal aggression) among a sample of Lebanese adults. Methods 403 participants above 18 years (the mean age was 24.56 ± 8.46) were enrolled in the cross-sectional study with 73% female participants. The candidates were asked to complete a structured questionnaire including the following scales: (1) Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire-Short Form (BPAQ-SF), (2) the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-8), (3) Perceived Social Competencies (PSC), and (4) The De Jong-Gierveld Loneliness Scale. Results The interaction psychological distress by perceived social competence was not significantly associated with physical aggression, verbal aggression, or hostility but was significantly associated with anger. After adjusting the results over variables that showed a p <.25 in the bivariate analysis, this association was significant at low (Beta = 0.24; p <.001), moderate (Beta = 0.20; p <.001) and high (Beta = 0.16; p <.001) levels of perceived social competencies, where higher psychological distress was significantly associated with more anger. On another note, with higher perceived social competence, we find a decrease in levels of psychological distress in our sample. Conclusion This study provided evidence that perceived social competencies such as communication skills, empathy and prosocial behaviors act as moderators in the association between psychological distress and anger. In future works, investigating and building advanced program in order to develop social competences of individuals might prove important. It is crucial to implement such strategies and projects in schools: this educational setting could be fruitful in a way that social skills could be instilled during childhood and anger-aggressive behaviors could be managed throughout adulthood.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01694-wPerceived social competencesPsychological distressAggressionHostilityAnger |
| spellingShingle | Joya-Maria Karam Zeinab Bitar Diana Malaeb Feten Fekih-Romdhane Souheil Hallit Sahar Obeid Perceived social competencies as moderators: examining the relationship between psychological distress and aggression, hostility, and anger in Lebanese adults BMC Psychology Perceived social competences Psychological distress Aggression Hostility Anger |
| title | Perceived social competencies as moderators: examining the relationship between psychological distress and aggression, hostility, and anger in Lebanese adults |
| title_full | Perceived social competencies as moderators: examining the relationship between psychological distress and aggression, hostility, and anger in Lebanese adults |
| title_fullStr | Perceived social competencies as moderators: examining the relationship between psychological distress and aggression, hostility, and anger in Lebanese adults |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perceived social competencies as moderators: examining the relationship between psychological distress and aggression, hostility, and anger in Lebanese adults |
| title_short | Perceived social competencies as moderators: examining the relationship between psychological distress and aggression, hostility, and anger in Lebanese adults |
| title_sort | perceived social competencies as moderators examining the relationship between psychological distress and aggression hostility and anger in lebanese adults |
| topic | Perceived social competences Psychological distress Aggression Hostility Anger |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01694-w |
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