Aggression and psychological problems in juvenile male delinquents versus controls in Russia: Alternative ways of "letting off steam"?

The purpose of this study is to investigate possible relationships between various subtraits of aggression and psychological symptoms in a sample of m ale delinquents. One hundred eighty-nine subjects from a juvenile correctio n center for delinquent adolescents and 117 control subjects from secondary schools in Arkhangelsk, Russia, were assessed by means of the Aggression Q uestionnaire and the Youth Self-Report. Significant correlations between ho stility, anger, and some psychological problems (e.g., Withdrawn, Anxious/D epressed, Thought Problems) were found in both groups. At the same rime, ph ysical and verbal aggression was almost exclusively related to aggressive a nd delinquent behavior. The findings lend support to our proposed interacti onal model in which excitation, as a result of the interplay between cognit ions and emotions, could be expressed either as socially accepted behavior, aggressive behavior or psychological and somatic symptoms. (C) 1999 Elsevi er Science Ltd. All rights reserved.