Health Behaviors Associated with Aggression in Korean Adolescents: Data from 2 Cross-sectional Studies

Abstract

Objectives: In this study, we identified the health-related behaviors associated with aggression and examined the trends in both aggression and health-related behaviors among adolescents in the Republic of Korea. Methods: We used 2 cross-sectional samples of adolescents collected from the same geographic region 10 years apart. We measured aggression using the Aggression Questionnaire. Subject characteristics of the questionnaire included age, sex, caffeine intake, alcohol consumption, smoking, regular exercise, use of medications, and unstable mood. Results: Data pertaining to 1316 and 894 students were extracted from 2006 and 2016 surveys, respectively. Based on the multivariate results, sex and smoking were associated with physical aggression in both surveys, whereas sex and unstable mood were linked to verbal aggression. Alcohol consumption, unstable mood, and use of pain medications were related to anger; indigestion and unstable mood were associated with hostility in both years. The total aggression score was significantly related to alcohol consumption and unstable mood in both years after adjusting for other confounders. Conclusions: Health-related behaviors such as alcohol consumption and unstable mood showed meaningful relations with aggression. Accordingly, we should increase public awareness of factors associated with aggression, and government agencies and schools should implement comprehensive prevention efforts.