The Relationship Between Negative Life Events and Aggressive/Prosocial Behavior: A Latent Profile Analysis Based on Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction

This study integrates Self-Determination Theory with an emotion-cognition framework and uses a questionnaire-based design to examine individual differences in behavioral responses. A person-centered latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted among 1596 Chinese participants (gender: 68.9% female; mean age: 18.25 years old) to identify distinct behavioral profiles in the context of negative life events. The results revealed that (1) four distinct profiles emerged among participants: a Self-Focused Group (33.65%), a Stress-Aggression Group (20.11%), an Ambivalent-Aggression Group (21.68%), and a Prosocial Group (24.56%); (2) significant differences were observed among these profiles in terms of empathic responses and psychological need satisfaction. By employing a person-centered analytical approach, this study contributes to a nuanced understanding of behavioral divergence under stress and offers insights for designing subgroup-specific psychological interventions.