Anger, Aggression and Hostility Assessment Among Medical Students

<ns7:p>Introduction Anger, aggression, and hostility are interconnected and are difficult to evaluate. Aggression, in particular, may be a negative behavior and should be minimized. This study aimed to obtain the perceptions of anger, hostility, and aggression among medical students by comparing self-rating detailed assessment tool scores with students’ self, social and academic factors. Methods This cross-sectional study measured the anger, aggression, and hostility of medical students using the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (AGQ). AGQ scores were compared with age, body mass index (BMI), sex, physical activity, academic level, college grade point average (GPA), study duration, gaming, and social media time using t-test, ANOVA, and Spearman’s correlation. Results A total of 138 medical students were included in this study: 109 males (79.0%) and 29 females (21.0%), with ages ranging from 18 to 27 years. The median Total AGQ was 71.5 with an IQR of 43.3. Insignificant results were found comparing total aggression scores (AGQ) with sex or educational levels, with p-value of 0.93 and 0.243, respectively, with the exception of hostility scores (AGQ_Host), which showed a significant association with educational level, with a p-value of 0.023. A significant inverse association was found between physical activity level and both the AGQ and AGQ-Host, with p-values of 0.047 and 0.002, respectively. Finally, GPA had a significant positive correlation with the AGQ-Host, with a p-value of 0.021. Conclusion Physical activity level, educational levels, and GPA were found to be the most influential factors in affecting the AGQ scores among other factors in this study. The use of better coping mechanisms, encouraging physical activity, improving sleep quality, and maintaining proper studying techniques may help reduce the AGQ scores.</ns7:p>