The Effect of Self-Esteem on Aggression in Adolescents Who Have Experienced Delinquency: Focusing on Mediating Effects of Social Withdrawal

Abstract

In the case of early adolescents, it has been reported that if they do not adequately radiate aggression, they are more likely to cause delinquency in the future. In addition, aggression in adolescence can predict not only current maladaptation but also future maladaptation, and is highly likely to continue as adult aggression. In addition to this, many studies claim that aggression is a major factor in adolescent delinquency. Regarding aggression, many scholars argue that self-esteem and social withdrawal are related to aggression. In other words, when self-esteem is high, aggression is low, and when the degree of social withdrawal is high, aggression is high. In this study, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the two, namely, to examine whether social withdrawal has a mediating effect in the process of self-esteem affecting aggression. As a result of the study, self-esteem was found to have a significant effect of wealth on social withdrawal. Also, social withdrawal was found to have a significant positive effect on aggression, and self-esteem was found to have a significant positive effect on aggression. Therefore, it can be seen that social withdrawal has a mediating effect in the process of self-esteem affecting aggression. As a result of bootstrapping to verify the mediating effect, the indirect effect of social withdrawal was significant in the process of self-esteem affecting aggression, indicating that self-esteem affects aggression through social withdrawal.