Role of Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction in Self Esteem and Aggression

Abstract

The aim of the study was to understand the role of basic psychological needs satisfaction in self-esteem and aggression amongst students. The study consisted of 140 young adult students studying in college. The data was collected using the Basic Psychological needs Satisfaction Scale- General, Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale and Buss and Perry Aggression Scale. After the data was collected, it was analysed using SPSS and the correlation was found using Pearsons product-moment correlation method. The results indicated that there was a significant positive correlation between basic psychological needs satisfaction and self esteem. They also indicated that there was a significant negative correlation between basic psychological needs satisfaction and aggression. Inferring that satisfying basic psychological needs of relatedness, autonomy and competence significantly predicted self esteem and aggressive behaviors in students. This means that satisfying basic psychological needs can improve self esteem in an individual and also decrease aggressive behavior patterns. Similarly dissatisfied basic needs could lead to low self esteem and aggression amongst students. It was also seen from the results that a negative correlation existed between self esteem and aggression indicating that students with high self esteem had lower aggressive behavior and students with higher aggressive behavior patterns usually were faced with low self esteem.