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The relationship between trait awe and online aggressive behavior in higher education students: Mediating effects of
1School of Education Science, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou, China.
Objective:
This study investigates the influence of trait awe on two forms of online aggressive behavior (instrumental and reactive) among higher education students, with a focus on the mediating roles of perspective-taking and empathic concern mainly guided by the General Aggression Model.
Methods:
A survey of 2111 students across several provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China collected data on the Dispositional Positive Emotions Scale, the Chinese Version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index-C, and the Online Aggressive Behavior Scale. Structural equation modeling was employed to test direct and indirect pathways.
Results:
Trait awe was significantly and negatively associated with both instrumental (β = -0.06, p = 0.022) and reactive (β = -0.14, p < 0.001) online aggressive behavior. Perspective-taking and empathic concern each partially mediated these relationships. Moreover, a significant chain mediation pathway emerged for both types of aggressive behavior.
Conclusion:
Enhancing students' sense of awe, alongside bolstering their perspective-taking and empathic capacities, may effectively reduce online aggressive behavior.
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