The associations between negative parenting and aggressive behavior: the Mediating role of normative beliefs approving aggression

Negative parenting is identified as a risk factor for adolescents' aggression through the mediating role of normative beliefs approving aggression in Western countries, yet this relationship remains unexplored in non-Western countries. The present study aims to examine these associations in a sample of Vietnamese adolescents, as an example of a non-Western country. There were 284 Vietnamese secondary school students (51.4% girls; age range = 11.1 to 15.0 years, with Mage = 12.7, SD = 0.91) taking part in the study. Data collection was conducted at three waves, with a four-month interval between waves. Maternal and paternal negative parenting were considered in two separate mediation models. The direct and indirect effect of negative parenting through the mediating role of normative beliefs approving aggression was found for the paternal model, but not for the maternal model. The findings suggest that normative beliefs approving aggression are also a mediator that links only by fathers' negative parenting and adolescents' aggression in a non-Western country.