Meta-analysis of aggression and malicious creativity

The purpose of this study is to obtain comprehensive conclusions on the relationship between aggression and malicious creativity through meta-analysis and to find out what variables moderate this relationship. The 20 papers analyzed (15 journal papers and 5 dissertations) were published between 2011 and 2022, and included data from a total of 6,411 subjects, from which 102 effect sizes were extracted. Data were analyzed using Stata 16.0 Review Manager and Comprehensive Meta Analysis V3. As a result, the overall correlation effect size of aggression and malicious creativity was ESr=.441, showing a medium or higher effect size. Specifically, the correlation effect sizes between the subfactors of aggression and malicious creativity were physical aggression .332, verbal aggression .160, anger .311, and hostility .384. The correlation effect sizes between each subfactor of aggression and creativity were 0.091 for harming others, .203 for lying, .301 for pranks, and .384 for malicious novelty. In addition, the moderating effects of country, gender, and measurement tool were significant, while the moderating effects of publication year and sample size were not significant. Finally, the discussion, implications, and suggestions for future work were discussed.