Parental attitudes and aggression in the Emo subculture

Introduction. A better functioning of adolescents involves proper relationships with parents, whereas negative relationships lead to aggressive behaviour. Young members of Emo subculture, characterised by deep emotional sensitivity, are particularly vulnerable to parental influence. Aim. The aim was to specify a relationship between parental attitudes and aggression among adolescents from the Emo subculture in comparison with a control group. Material. 3,800 lower secondary school students took part in the introductory research. A target group constituted 41 people from the Emo subculture as well as a control group involving 48 people. Method. A screening survey, the Parental Attitudes Scale, the Aggression Questionnaire and the author's questionnaire including questions concerning the functioning in the Emo subculture were used in the study. Results. The results obtained in the research study suggest that there is a relationship between the indicated improper parental attitudes and aggressive behaviour among adolescents from the Emo subculture in comparison with the control group. Conclusions. In the Emo subculture, teenagers' aggressive behaviour is related to improper parental attitudes. It has been stated that mother's attitudes, irrespective of subculture, are much more strongly associated with the aggression among adolescents than father's attitudes. Moreover, aggressive behaviour in the Emo subculture occurs when father displays an excessively demanding attitude. A reduction of the level of almost all kinds of aggression manifested among teenagers from the Emo subculture is associated with mothers' attitude of acceptance. Mothers' autonomous attitude leads to an increase in the aggression in this group, whereas an inconsistent attitude of mothers fosters an increase in aggression among all teenagers.