The Interactive Roles of Frustrations and Religious Attitudes on Aggression

Recent data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) reveal a worrisome escalation in aggression rates among young individuals, including incidents of injury, criminal involvement, and criminal activity. In this context, the basic objective of the present study is to examine the moderating effect of religious attitudes on the relationship between frustration and aggressive behavior. The study data were collected through an online cross-sectional survey conducted with 729 participants (523 female, 206 male) randomly selected between the ages of 18 and 25. To collect the data, the Aggression Scale, the Religious Attitude Scale, and the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale were used. The results showed that frustration was positively related to physical aggression, hostility, anger, and verbal aggression. In contrast, religious attitudes were negatively related to physical aggression, hostility, anger, verbal aggression, and frustration. Additionally, religious attitudes played a moderating role in the relationship between frustration and physical aggression and hostility. However, the findings indicated that religious attitude failed to reduce the effect of frustration on anger and verbal aggression. The results of the study indicate that religious attitudes significantly influence the impact of frustrations on tendencies toward anger and verbal aggression. These findings reveal a complex relationship between frustration and aggression, which depends on the degree of religious inclination. In light of these findings, it is recommended that guidance programs based on religious values be developed—within the framework of the existing literature—to help reduce aggression levels among individuals experiencing need frustration.