TY - JOUR
T1 - Correlates of verbally aggressive communication in adolescents
AU - Atkin, C.
AU - Smith, S.
AU - Roberto, A.
AU - Fediuk, T.
AU - Wagner, T.
N1 - Funding Information:
Charles K. Atkin (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin) is University Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication at Michigan State University. Sandi W. Smith (Ph.D., University of Southern California) is Professor in the Department of Communication at Michigan State University. Anthony J. Roberto (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Kentucky. Thomas Fediuk (M. A., Illinois State University) is a Doctoral Student in the Department of Communication at Michigan State University. Thomas Wagner (M. A., University of Central Florida) is a Doctoral Student in the School of Communication Studies at Kent State University. An earlier version of this manuscript was presented at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL 1999. This research was sponsored by a grant from the Michigan Public Health Institute to Charles Atkin. Contact the first author at atkin@msu.edu.
PY - 2002/8
Y1 - 2002/8
N2 - This investigation identifies demographic, media, and social correlates of verbally aggressive communication in adolescence. Mail surveys were completed and returned by 2,300 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 15. These adolescents were asked about the prevalence of verbal and physical aggression, the context in which it occurred, demographics, and the interpersonal and media influences in their lives. The results indicate that verbal aggression is widespread, that committing and experiencing verbal aggression is largely reciprocal, that there is a strong relationship between committing verbal and physical aggression, and that peer social influence and listening to violently oriented music are mildly related to verbal aggression in adolescents. These findings suggest more resources should be allocated to teaching adolescents to understand and control verbal aggression. Further, they provide important answers to many prevention and intervention programmatic questions, including context, content, and targeting concerns. Since the negative consequences of verbal aggression are severe and long lasting, decreasing this destructive communication behavior should significantly improve the lives of many adolescents. These and other practical implications are expanded upon and discussed.
AB - This investigation identifies demographic, media, and social correlates of verbally aggressive communication in adolescence. Mail surveys were completed and returned by 2,300 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 15. These adolescents were asked about the prevalence of verbal and physical aggression, the context in which it occurred, demographics, and the interpersonal and media influences in their lives. The results indicate that verbal aggression is widespread, that committing and experiencing verbal aggression is largely reciprocal, that there is a strong relationship between committing verbal and physical aggression, and that peer social influence and listening to violently oriented music are mildly related to verbal aggression in adolescents. These findings suggest more resources should be allocated to teaching adolescents to understand and control verbal aggression. Further, they provide important answers to many prevention and intervention programmatic questions, including context, content, and targeting concerns. Since the negative consequences of verbal aggression are severe and long lasting, decreasing this destructive communication behavior should significantly improve the lives of many adolescents. These and other practical implications are expanded upon and discussed.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Peer social influence
KW - Physical aggression
KW - Prevention of aggression
KW - Verbal aggression
KW - Violently oriented music
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U2 - 10.1080/00909880216585
DO - 10.1080/00909880216585
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0036679369
SN - 0090-9882
VL - 30
SP - 251
EP - 268
JO - Journal of Applied Communication Research
JF - Journal of Applied Communication Research
IS - 3
ER -