Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Loneliness With Aggressive Behavior of Adolescents in Perak, Malaysia

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between the level of self-esteem and loneliness with aggressive behavior of adolescents. Respondents were students of Sultan Abdul Aziz High School, Seri Perak High School and Horley Methodist High School in Perak, Malaysia. A total of 200 students were involved in this study. This cross sectional study measures aggressive behavior by four dimensions of verbal aggression, physical aggression, anger and hostility, which was assessed by Aggressive Questionnaire; level of self-esteem was assessed by Self Esteem Scale, and R-UCLA Loneliness Scale was used to measure the level of adolescent loneliness. Data analysis shows that overall self-esteem and loneliness are linked to aggressive behavior. The findings show that there are significant differences between high and low levels of loneliness with aggressive behavior. The results found that respondents with lower levels of loneliness behave more aggressively than respondents who experienced loneliness is high.