Predicting Aggression Among Adolescents Based on Parental Psychological Control and Self-Compassion: The Mediating Role of Emotion Dysregulation

Kareem Mohammed; Wakil Asekun; Andrea Ugalde

Authors

Kareem Mohammed Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago Author https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2684-0936
Wakil Asekun Department of Psychology, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria Corresponding Author https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6519-1650
Andrea Ugalde Department of Health Psychology, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica Author https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0801-5373

Keywords:

Adolescents, Aggression, Parental Psychological Control, Self-Compassion, Emotion Dysregulation, Mediation, Nigeria

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to predict aggression among Nigerian adolescents based on parental psychological control and self-compassion and to examine the mediating role of emotion dysregulation in these relationships.

Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional predictive-correlational study was conducted among 412 adolescents aged 13–18 years enrolled in public and private secondary schools in Nigeria during the 2025–2026 academic year. Participants were selected using a multistage sampling procedure. Data were collected using the Psychological Control Scale–Youth Self-Report, the 26-item Self-Compassion Scale, the 36-item Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and the 29-item Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 29 and the PROCESS macro. Pearson correlation coefficients, multiple and hierarchical regression analyses, and mediation analysis using PROCESS Model 4 with 5,000 bootstrap resamples were performed. Statistical significance was set at p < .05.

Findings: Parental psychological control significantly and positively predicted emotion dysregulation (β = .37, p < .001) and aggression (β = .14, p < .001), whereas self-compassion significantly and negatively predicted emotion dysregulation (β = -.45, p < .001) and aggression (β = -.19, p < .001). Emotion dysregulation was the strongest predictor of aggression (β = .55, p < .001). Parental psychological control and self-compassion jointly explained 49% of the variance in emotion dysregulation, while the final model explained 53% of the variance in aggression. Bootstrap mediation analysis showed a significant indirect effect of parental psychological control on aggression through emotion dysregulation (B = 0.40, 95% CI [0.31, 0.50]) and a significant indirect effect of self-compassion on aggression through emotion dysregulation (B = -6.93, 95% CI [-8.63, -5.39]), indicating partial mediation.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that parental psychological control increases adolescent aggression partly by intensifying emotion dysregulation, whereas self-compassion reduces aggression partly by promoting more adaptive emotional regulation.

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