The Epidemiology of Aggression and Associated Factors Among Iranian Adult Population: A National Survey Publisher Pubmed



Poorolajal J^{1, 2} ; Ebrahimi B¹ ; Rezapurshahkolai F^{3, 4} ; Doostiirani A^{1, 5} ; Alizadeh M⁶ ; Ahmadpoor J⁷ ; Moradi L¹ ; Biderafsh A⁸ ; Nikbakht F⁹ ; Golmohammadi Z¹⁰ ; Sarbazi E¹¹ ; Bahadivand S¹ ; Noveiri MJS¹² ; Rezaei M¹³ Show All Authors
Source: Journal of Research in Health Sciences Published:2020

Abstract

Background: This survey was conducted to determine the level of aggression among the Iranian adult population and underlying predisposing factors. Study design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 10,957 participants, involving 23 out of the 31 provinces of Iran in 2019. The outcome of interest was aggression, evaluated by the Buss & Perry aggression questionnaire. The association between aggression and 34 demographic, behavioral, social, and cultural characteristics was assessed using simple and multiple linear regression. Results: The overall mean (SD) score of aggression was 77.10 (22.53). Based on the severity of aggression, the participants were categorized into four groups as follows: 2,464 (23.1%) nonaggressive, 4,692 (43.9%) mild, 3,071 (28.8%) moderate, and 454 (4.2%) severe aggressive. Aggression was more likely to occur in people with the following characteristics: younger ages, having several siblings, lower ranks of birth, having an intimate friend of the opposite sex, having an aggressive father/mother, history of parental divorce, interest in watching action/porn movies, listening to music, history of escape from home/school, using neuropsychiatric drugs, using illicit drugs, history of suicidal thoughts/attempt, and family conflict and hostility. Aggression was less likely to occur with the following characteristics: reading, regular physical exercise, the ability to control anger, regular prayer, adherence to avoid lying, respect to other people's rights, sexual satisfaction, and attachment to parents. Conclusions: A majority of the population has some degree of aggression. Aggression is a multifactorial behavior corresponding with several demographical, social, cultural, and religious factors, some of which back to early childhood events. © 2020 The Author(s).