What If Violent Behavior Was a Coping Strategy? Approaching a Model Based on Artificial Neural Networks

Juan Pedro Martínez Ramón and Francisco Manuel Morales Rodríguez
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Juan Pedro Martínez Ramón: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Murcia, Campus of Espinardo, C.P. 30100 Murcia, Spain
Francisco Manuel Morales Rodríguez: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Granada, Campus of Cartuja, C.P. 18071 Granada, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 18, 1-17

Abstract: The aggressor sets in motion dysfunctional and violent behaviors with others in the dynamic of bullying. These behaviors can be understood as misfit coping strategies in response to environmental demands perceived as stressful, putting at risk the quality of education. The aim of this study was to develop a predictive model based on artificial neural networks (ANN) to forecast a violent coping strategy based on perceived stress, resilience, other coping strategies and various socio-demographic variables. For this purpose, the Stress Coping Questionnaire (SCQ), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) were administered to 283 participants from the educational field (71.5% women). The design was cross-sectional. An inferential analysis (multilayer perception ANN) was performed with SPSS version 24. The results showed a predictive model that took into consideration the subject’s stress levels, personal assessment and strategies such as negative self-targeting or avoidance to predict open emotional expression (a coping strategy defined by violent behaviors) in approximately four out of five cases. The conclusions emphasis the need for considering problem solving, stress management and coping skills to prevent school violence and improve the social environment through sustainable psychological measures.

Keywords: artificial neural networks; bullying; school violence; social environment; psychological sustainability; prevention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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