The Influence of Depression on Aggression: The Moderating Effect of Inferiority

This study investigated the moderating effect of inferiority in the relationship between depression and aggression, in light of growing societal interest in motive-ambiguous violent crimes in South Korea. A survey was conducted with 200 university students, and the data were analyzed using SPSS 29 and PROCESS Macro 4.2 (Model 1). The results revealed that inferiority significantly moderated the effect of depression on aggression, such that the influence of depression on aggression was stronger at higher levels of inferiority. The Johnson-Neyman technique was employed to identify the inferiority threshold at which the effect of depression on aggression became statistically significant. These findings suggest that the external expression of depression may vary depending on levels of inferiority, and highlight the need for targeted interventions to reduce inferiority in efforts to prevent the escalation of depressive symptoms into aggressive behaviors.