Young People of Draft Age and Aggression Level

Background: Responses to a specific situation, including aggressive behaviour in a particular situation, play a central role in adaptation. The specificity of the situation (competition, service in the army) is a determining factor in the behavior of the individual. An indicator of adaptation to the new situation is the characteristic of the level of aggression. Earlier, the study of the level of physical preparedness for service in the army revealed a negative trend in a group of young people with signs of neuropsychic instability (NPI). An assessment of the level of aggression in this group is of interest in predicting the nature of adaptation to service in the army.

Aims: To assess the level of aggression in a group of persons with NPI.

Methods: The experimental group (EG) consisted of 30 young people with signs of NPI and the control group (CG) consisted of 30 persons of similar age without such signs. We used the Buss-Perry Aggression test. The questionnaire examined four different areas: physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger (the affective component of the aggressive behavior), and hostility (the cognitive component of the aggressive behavior). High values of the test results indicate an increased level of aggression.

Results: The average score of the total evaluation of aggression in the EG is 72.0+22.0 and in CG - 50.0+22.5 (p0.05). The level of physical aggression between groups of differences was not revealed: 19.4+3.42 (EG) and 18.5+2.93 (CG) (p0.05). A similar picture is also revealed in the level of verbal activity: 14.7+3.67 (EG) and 15.3+2.44 (CG) (p0.05). Significant differences between groups are established by such indicators as anger (19.5+5.84 and 15.4+2.60) and hostility (19.5+7.33 and 15.5+6.36), respectively in EG and CG (t p0.05).

Conclusion: The significantly higher level of aggression including such elements as anger and hostility in the group of young people with NPI indicates a high risk of difficult adaptation to the conditions of service in the armed forces.