The Mediating Effect of Self-Regulation Attitude Toward Social Support and Aggression Among Selected Senior High School Students in Davao Occidental

Abstract

This study investigated how self-regulation attitude mediates the relationship between social support and aggression among senior high school students in Davao Occidental. Using a descriptive-correlational design, the research sample included 110 students from eight secondary schools. The study employed standardized questionnaires: Sarason et al. (1983) for social support, Miller and Brown (1991) for self-regulation attitude, and Gerevich et al. (2007) for aggression. Data were analyzed through Mean and Standard Deviation, Spearman’s Rank-Order Correlation, Medgraph, and the Sobel Z-Test. Results indicated that social support had a moderate grand mean (3.11), with appraisal support highest and self-esteem support lowest. Self-regulation attitude was also moderate (grand mean = 3.21), peaking in monitoring and lowest in receiving. Aggression, however, was high (grand mean = 3.79), with hostility at its highest and verbal aggression at its lowest. Statistical analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between social support and aggression (r = -0.392, p < .001), indicating that more social support is associated with less aggression. Additionally, there was a strong positive correlation between social support and self-regulation attitude (r = 0.838, p < .001), as well as a negative correlation between self-regulation and aggression (r = -0.222, p < .020). Mediation analysis identified self-regulation as a significant mediator between social support and aggression, with an indirect effect of 0.301 and a direct effect of -0.612. The Sobel test confirmed that increased social support boosts self-regulation, which subsequently leads to decreased aggression in students. These findings have significant implications for understanding and addressing adolescent aggression.