A longitudinal study of inferiority impacting on aggression among college students: The mediation role of cognitive reappraisal and expression suppression

Abstract Objective The present study investigated the ways in which inferiority predicted aggression 6 months later in college students, by considering the role of cognitive reappraisal and expression suppression. Method A total of 462 Chinese college students (50.2% male; Mage=19.60, SD=0.807) completed an emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ), an inferiority questionnaire, and a Chinese college students’ vision of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (CC-BPAQ) at two time points. Results The results showed that the predictive effect of inferiority (at time 1) on aggression (at time 2) was significant before putting the mediator variables into the model (β = 0.655, p 0.05, 95% CI= 0.000 ~ 0.035). Conclusions Inferiority had direct positive associations with aggression, and this relationship was only mediated by cognitive reappraisal among college students.