title: Violence-related behaviors among adolescents and its association with cognitive emotion regulation strategies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adolescent violence is now regarded as a major public health concern. Despite growing interest in psychographic risk factors for violent behavior, few studies have explored the role of strategies to regulate cognitive emotion in adolescents. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of adolescent violence behaviors and to identify the relationship between specific strategies to regulate cognitive emotion and forms of violent behavior.Adolescent violence is now regarded as a major public health concern. Despite growing interest in psychographic risk factors for violent behavior, few studies have explored the role of strategies to regulate cognitive emotion in adolescents. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of adolescent violence behaviors and to identify the relationship between specific strategies to regulate cognitive emotion and forms of violent behavior.
  
  
  METHODS
  We cross-sectionally surveyed 3315 students in grades 7 to 10 using anonymous, self-reporting questionnaires to examine strategies to regulate cognitive emotion and violence-related behaviors in young adolescents. A logistic regression model was used to identify the relationship between specific violent behaviors and strategies to regulate cognitive emotion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most commonly reported type of violent behavior was verbal attack (48.6%), while 7.1% of students were involved in fights and 2.4% had been injured in fights. Boys were involved in all forms of violent behavior studied, and did so significantly more often than girls (P<0.05). Logistic regression revealed that six cognitive emotion strategies (self-blame, rumination, planning, reappraisal, catastrophisizing, and blaming others) were associated with violent behaviors, of which catastrophisizing was the most significant factor of all violent behaviors examined that were influenced by this strategy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Violence-related behaviors, especially verbal attacks, were common among adolescents. Several cognitive emotion regulation strategies were positively associated with specific violent behaviors, but catastrophisizing was strongly related to all forms of violent behavior. Thus, programs targeting adolescent violence must address this and other maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China. jingjin@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Han
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
authors.forename: Xiu-Hong
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Nan Sha Middle School, Guangzhou, 511458, China.
authors.forename: Yu-Sui
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Cai
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D000068356:Self-Control / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: adolescent; anti-social behavior; cognitive emotion regulation; psychographic risk factors; violence