Analysis

Aggression is a natural component of human behavior, but it can be difficult to manage. It is important to recognize that aggression is not always harmful, but it becomes unhealthy when used inappropriately. That’s why establishing norms for aggression and considering alternatives to aggressive behavior is essential. This tool assesses students’ perceptions of how their peers react to aggressive and alternative behaviors in a school environment. It specifically focuses on two dimensions:

School norms, which represent what students believe their peers think about certain behaviors

Individual norms, which reflect students’ personal evaluations of the same behaviors.

Objective

The purpose of this questionnaire is to establish norms regarding aggression and to explore possible alternatives to aggressive behavior.

Scoring

The NFAA-36 Questionnaire includes 36 items scored as follows:
1 = I don’t like it
2 = I have no opinion
3 = I like it

Statistical Analysis

This assessment includes four subscales. Scores for each subscale are calculated by summing the responses for the relevant items and dividing by the total number of items in that subscale:

School Norms for Aggression: Items 4, 8, 14, 18, 20, 22, 28, 30, 32, and 34

School Norms for Alternatives to Aggression: Items 2, 6, 10, 12, 16, 24, 26, and 36

Individual Norms for Aggression: Items 3, 7, 13, 17, 19, 21, 27, 29, 31, and 33

Individual Norms for Alternatives to Aggression: Items 1, 5, 9, 11, 15, 23, 25, and 35

References

Jackson, J. (1966). A conceptual and measurement model for norms and roles. Pacific Sociological Review, 9, 35–47.

Multisite Violence Prevention Project. (2004). Description of measures: Cohort-wide student survey. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Atlanta, GA. (Unpublished)

Sasaki, K. (1979). Present status of research on group norms in Japan. American Journal of Community Psychology, 7, 147–158.4(5), 1561-1576.

Dodge, K. A., & Coie, J. D. (1987). Social-Information-Processing Factors in Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Children’s Peer Groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(6), 1146-1158.