Not logged in.

Contribution Details

Type Journal Article
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title Values, attitudes toward interpersonal violence, and interpersonal violent behavior
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Daniel Seddig
  • Eldad Davidov
Item Subtype Original Work
Refereed Yes
Status Published in final form
Language
  • English
Journal Title Frontiers in Psychology
Publisher Frontiers Research Foundation
Geographical Reach international
ISSN 1664-1078
Volume 9
Page Range 604
Date 2018
Abstract Text The relevance of human values for the study of the motivational sources of interpersonal violent behavior was investigated in various fields of the social sciences. However, several past studies mixed up values with other dimensions like attitudes, norms, or beliefs, and only a few systematically assessed the effect of values on violent behavior relying on a value theory. Furthermore, in other studies, violence was often analyzed as a composite index of different forms of delinquent behavior rather than as violence per se. In the current study we address these gaps in the literature by building upon Schwartz’ theory of basic human values. We use it to explain attitudes toward interpersonal violence and interpersonal violent behavior. We analyze data of young people (n = 1,810) drawn from a German study in Duisburg, Germany, which assessed various types of self-reported violent behavior as well as values and attitudes toward violence. We test structural equation models in which we explain interpersonal violent behavior with basic human values, and where attitudes toward interpersonal violent behavior mediate this relation. Results show that self-transcendence and conservation values are associated negatively and power and stimulation values positively with interpersonal violent behavior. In addition, attitudes operate as a partial mediator for the former and as a full mediator for the latter in the relation between values and violent behavior. Despite a dominant association between attitudes and behavior, values themselves can significantly contribute to the explanation of violent behavior.
Free access at DOI
Digital Object Identifier 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00604
Other Identification Number merlin-id:17088
PDF File Download from ZORA
Export BibTeX
EP3 XML (ZORA)