Aggression, anger and hostility: Evaluation of moral disengagement as a mediational process

This study examines how the mechanisms underlying moral disengagement serve as a mediator between anger and hostility and physical and verbal aggression. The study was carried out on 424 participants (61.1% females), aged 15 to 25 years, assessing the direct and indirect effects of the distinct variables using a hierarchical multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling. The findings suggest that anger and hostility contribute independently and positively to physical and verbal aggression. Moreover, the relationships between anger, hostility, and aggression appear to be mediated by moral disengagement. Indeed, this process of mediation was invariant across sexes, and it tended to be stronger for physical--as opposed to verbal--aggression.