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LEVELS OF SELF-ACTUALİZATİON WİTH MANİFESTATİONS OF
VİOLENCE İN STUDENTS STUDY OF THE RELATİONSHİP BETWEEN
Karimli Aygun1
Abstract: It is devoted to the study of the relationship between the manifestations of violence and
the levels of self-actualization in students. In the study, the methodology of studying the eects of
violence and Shostrom’s SAT methodology and the questionnaire prepared by the author were used.
The study included 140 undergraduate students. It was determined that there is a negative correlation
between the level of self-actualization of demands and the violence suered. It became clear that the
relationship between the primitive level of self-actualization and the verbal and non-verbal types of
violence is bidirectional. At the same time, the relationship between dierent types of enjoyment and
self-actualization is two-way. It can be concluded that as the levels of self-actualization increase, the
likelihood of being bullied decreases. It was found that the relationship between the adequate level of
self-actualization and the types of violence is positive. The research showed that the phenomenon of
verbal and non-verbal violence in childhood causes quite a variety of psychological eects, such as
trauma, trust problems, loss of personal self-condence, self-loathing and the formation of a fearful/
anxious personality, and it is very important to eliminate them. It can be concluded that students in
order to eliminate the manifestations of violence, it is necessary to increase the personality qualities,
including the opportunities for self-realization, and to create a favorable educational environment for
this.
Keywords: verbal and non-verbal violence, students, levels of self-actualization, conducive learning
environment
1 Doctorant in Psychology, Baku State University, Azerbaijan, Orcid: https://orcid.org/0009-
0009-7173-8655
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Introduction
The increasing dynamism of violent behavior in modern times calls for deeper attention to this
problem. Undoubtedly, violent behavior is an extremely diuse phenomenon, and thus operationalizing
its denition is complex. Concepts of what is behaviorally acceptable and unacceptable and what
constitutes harm are culturally inuenced and constantly changing as values and social norms evolve.
[Krug, et al. 2002.].
At present, the phenomenon of violence has begun to attract the attention of both society and
specialists of various elds of knowledge more and more. Although various researches are conducted
on violence, articles, books, and dissertations are written, paradoxically, the question of what is
violence still remains unresolved. This term is used so widely that sometimes the researcher questions
whether what has already been said is violence or some other phenomenon.
The analysis of conducted studies shows that the diversity of moral codes around the world
makes the issue of violence one of the most dicult and politically sensitive issues to address.
However, in our rapidly changing world, while eorts are being made to reach consensus and dene
universal standards of behavior based on human rights to protect human life and dignity, it is dicult
to say that this has yet been fully achieved.
To nd a global consensus that would allow comparisons between countries, the World
Report on Violence and Health dened violence as the presence or actual intentional use of physical
force, such as the use of physical force against oneself, another person, or a group or community.
Events that result in or are likely to result in injury, death, psychological harm, poor development, or
deprivation are manifestations of violence [Krug, et al. 2002.]. Psychologists dene violence as the
intentional use of physical force or power against a person or social situation. A group or society that
harms a person and causes negative consequences is a violent society. It should be noted that from the
legal point of view violent behavior is “deliberate (non-accidental)”. If someone carelessly elbows a
bystander, this cannot be considered as an act of violence. Because there is a prior intention to commit
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it The person did not have a premeditated or planned intention to harm others. This is reected in the
legal and legal plan. From a psychological point of view, this issue is dierent Several aspects can
be noted here. First, the consequences of violence come into focus. Second, violence has a negative
impact on the personality. Third, violence aects the psychological state of the personality Among
other things, it is an event that has a negative impact on his sense of personal dignity, and because of
its inuence, the personality cannot reconstruct its possibilities for a long time.
In a number of studies, the question of the consequences of violence has not been fundamentally
addressed, but its forced nature is emphasized. However, both denitions are not contradictory, on the
contrary, they complement each other. Therefore, it is advisable to combine them and violence can be
dened as the intentional and forced physical or psychological impact of one person (group, society) on
another person (group, society). The main purpose of violence is to make a person feel something (for
example, feel, humiliate, intimidate) or to do an action or action against his wishes [Aptikiyeva, 2020].
In addition to all this, we should note that although various psychological characteristics of victims of
violent behavior have been studied, their self-realization directions have not been thoroughly studied.
The main purpose of this article is to determine the relationship between levels of self-actualization
in people who experience violent behavior.
Literature review
Based on psychological literature, researchers have developed explanatory models of
psychological correlates of violent activity in general [Lerner, JS,¬Li, Y, Valdesolo, P, et al. 2015;
Ridde-rinkhof, 2017; Crick, 1996; Anderson and Bushman, 2002; Finkel and Hall, 2018; Huesmann,
2018]. Based on aspects of these models relevant to clinical assessment, an act of violence can be
divided into the following elements: (a) trigger, (b) focus, (c) meaning, (d) preparation, (e) appraisal,
(f) inhibition/activation, and (g) ) activity. The reality of subjective experience here is that there are no
dened episodes with clear boundaries separating them from other episodes of experience. However,
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for practical evaluation purposes, it may be useful to conceptualize key snapshots of experience.
The etiology of violent or aggressive behavior has been the focus of several studies. The
main issue here is to investigate the psychological causes of aggressive behavior and violent behavior
and to describe its course. It should be noted that the explanations of the perpetrators of violent events
often begin with a description of something that caused a change in the person’s consciousness that
led to aggression. It can be an environmental event (such as another person’s action) and, depending
on the model or context, it can be a stimulus, cue, trigger, or provocation event.
From a subjective point of view, a violent episode actually begins with drawing attention to
the event and then giving it meaning. However, in this process, it is necessary to take into account
the objective characteristics of environmental phenomena [Fin¬kel and Hall, 2018]. Although the
aggressor may refer to a single event, there are often a number of proximal events that have a similar
eect on them.
Events occurring inside a person can also create conditions for him to show violent or
aggressive behavior. In this regard, internal events can lead to an aggressive state of mind. In the
case of post-traumatic stress disorder associated with violence, a reexperiencing phenomenon (eg, a
memory or ashback) can lead to a change in subjective experience, which can lead to aggression or
violent behavior [Silva, Derecho, Leong, et al. 2001]
Other examples of internal triggers include auditory hallucinations that promote violence or
persecutory delusions associated with feelings of hostility or imminent danger. [Lamsma, 2015].
Whether the identied stimulus is an environmental event, a memory, or a psychotic
experience, it is the change in the oender’s state that is important in inuencing the likelihood of an
aggressive response. In some cases, the eect change may occur spontaneously. For example, aective
instability in borderline personality disorder implies a sudden and dramatic transition to a state of
negative aect, and in some individuals this state is associated with aggressive calls.
Studies have conrmed that where an aggressive mental state is triggered, the subjective
phase begins with focusing on the event. Indeed, in any situation, focusing attention on a certain
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object can act as a motivating factor for that time. Attention to potential triggers varies both between
individuals and within the same individual depending on other contextual factors [Banks et.al, 2018].
The study of the role of attention in the mental processes that cause aggression mainly
focuses on the events to which the aggressor reacts, that is, the stimuli related to the threat [Salum,
et al, 2016]. However, some situations activate attention in ways that lead to aggression because they
represent opportunities. For example, a lonely woman in a secluded area may attract the attention of
a person with sexually sadistic desires, or a store without customers may be of interest to a person
looking for an opportunity to commit an armed robbery. These cases can also be sought to commit an
intentional act of aggression. In these scenarios, there may be an existing readiness to use violence, but
the victim’s resistance may lead to an angry aggressive response. Showing overlap between resistance,
reactive, and instrumental constructs, instrumental preparation acts as a trigger for reactive violence
[Nathan and Wilson, 2020].
An event has the potential to be provocative because of the meaning given to it. Such incidents
may include the actions of others, such as adopting a threatening posture or uttering verbal abuse.
However, some aggressive individuals may attribute threats to postures or comments that most would
not consider threatening, especially when there is some ambiguity in intent. The tendency to attribute
hostile intent to another’s actions is associated with the likelihood of aggression [Dodge et al. 2015].
Side with threat Other types of meanings that can be attributed to actions that will lead to
violence include challenge, rejection, abandonment, criticism, subjugation, disrespect, humiliation,
and injustice. The tendency to attribute malice is a characteristic of paranoia. In paranoid psychosis,
beliefs about the malice of others do not always require an inciting event. In paranoid personality
disorder, an event usually occurs that causes the paranoid meaning to be assigned. A persistent
tendency to hold grudges can cause a considerable delay between the identied incident and the act
of violence. Paranoid reactions to the actions of others that pass quickly are a feature of borderline
personality disorder.
It should be taken into account that the psychological well-being and health of the personality
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is inextricably linked with self-actualization, especially during youth. Essentially, both phenomena
in the socio-cultural environment are the same process of personality completeness and integrity. In
the existentialist context, self-actualization is viewed as a sign of human mental health or a function
of existence. In the ontological sense, self-realization is considered as a natural and legitimate way
of human existence, in other words, as a creative and self-exploring healthy person (Shutenko, 2018;
Dubrovina 2010; Vodayakha, 2012). From this point of view, the impact of stress on the learning
process, learning, self-actualization and self-evaluation of students is unfathomable [Jabbarov et al.,
2020].
In general, the situation of bullying cannot be limited only to its impact on the student’s self-
actualization. It should be noted that positive emotions create a positive emotional state, which plays
an important role in the formation of whole behavior. In modern times, attention is being paid to the
unique functions of positive emotions (Desmet and Pohlmeyer 2013, Calvo and Peters 2014). There
is strong evidence that positive emotions play a critical role in perception, thinking, behavior, and
subsequent well-being [Kamila et.al., 2021;Tugade, Shiota, and Kirby et al., 2014; Jabbarov, 2017]. In
this regard, in order to eliminate violence in demands, it is required to increase their self-realization
opportunities.
Methodology
The main goal of the article was to determine the relationship between the level of self-
actualization of the victims of violence. For this purpose, quantitative and qualitative samples were
used. 140 students of various specialties took part in the study. 95.60% of regularly attending students
of both genders participated in the classes. The following methods were used in the research:
- “Inventory of Personal Orientations” (POI) (Shostrom, 1999).
- Diagnosis of the child’s thoughts about violence. “Incomplete sentences” test (Volkova
E.N., 2008).
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An adapted version of Everett Shostrom’s (2010) POI questionnaire (Personal Orientations
Inventory) was used in the study. The test contains 126 questions and 14 scales, each of which
corresponds to a specic characteristic of self-actualizing personality (Shostrom, 2010). In addition,
we applied the test of incomplete sentences for the study of speech. We tried to clarify the indicators
of violence through informal methods such as observation and conversation of the students. For the
statistical processing of the results of the empirical research, the methods of mathematical statistics
such as the r-Spearman correlation coecient were used. Quantitative data processing SPSS Statistics
22 was performed using calculation software.
Results
Modern students prioritize the need for self-actualization, self-armation activities above
all else. In addition, the development of professional qualities in students who have been subjected
to violence in the educational system is not enough for adaptation to modern conditions. Factors
that have a negative impact on students’ self-realization - including the factor of violence and
aggression, traumas, etc. - create obstacles to the creation of conditions that create a foundation for
students’ successful self-realization, adequate self-armation. Prevents. Taking this into account, we
conducted an experimental-psychological study to nd out the degree of inuence of these factors on
students. In this study, Pearson’s correlation test was conducted to evaluate the correlation between
self-actualization and bullying in students. The results of the Pearson correlation test are shown in
Table 1.
Self-actualization Verbal violence (R) Non-verbal violence (R) P
Primitive level -.268** -.190** .000
Adequate level of self-actualization .496** .320** .000
Level of social adjustment -.540** -.569** .000
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Table 1. Between self-actualization and violence in students relationship indicators
**. Correlation is signicant at the 0.01 level (2-sided)
Table 1 shows the results of the correlation test between the self-actualization variable
and the violence dimension variable, as well as the self-actualization variable and the characteristic
violence dimension variable. The results of the correlation test between self-actualization and state
anxiety show a correlation coecient of -.399 with a p-value signicance of 0.000, which means p <
0.05. Thus, it can be interpreted that there is a negative relationship between self-actualization and
violence dimension. Correlation test between self-actualization and trait violence measure shows a
correlation coecient value of -0.486 with a p-value signicance of 0.000 meaning p < 0.05. This
means that there is a negative relationship between self-actualization and measures of trait violence. It
can be concluded that there is a signicant negative relationship between self-actualization and both
dimensions of violence, i.e. verbal and non-verbal types.
Table 2. Between levels of self-actualization and types of violence in students relationship indicators
According to Table 2, the results of the correlation test between the levels of self-actualization
and the types of violence are interpreted. The results of the correlation test between verbal and non-
verbal types of violence at the primitive level of self-actualization show a correlation coecient of
Methodologies Pearson (r) Sig.
Selfrealization -.399** .000
Violence -.486** .000
Self-actualization Verbal violence (R) Non-verbal violence (R) P
Primitive level -.268** -.190** .000
Adequate level of self-actualization .496** .320** .000
Level of social adjustment -.540** -.569** .000
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-0.268 and -0.198 with a p-value of 0.000, which means p <0.05. Thus, it can be interpreted that there
is a negative relationship between the primitive level of self-actualization and the types of violence. At
an adequate level of self-actualization, there is a positive correlation between both types of violence,
which means that the more adequate the self-actualization, the lower the violence. Also, there is a
negative relationship between the level of social adjustment of self-actualization and the types of
violence ( p <0.05, r=-.540**; r=-, -.569**). The results of the study once again showed that there is
a signicant relationship between the level of self-actualization of students and the verbal and non-
verbal types of bullying.
Discussion and Conclusion
The results of this study indicate a signicant negative relationship between self-actualization
and violence. This is indicated by the results of data processing, i.e., correlation coecient value of
-0.486 and p-value signicance value of 0.000, pago, and most of the participants reported that it never
happened again. This is because verbal and non-verbal violence has the eect of making people feel
constantly anxious and threatened (Setiawan et al., 2023).
Rese a rch pa r t icip a nts chos e t h at t he eects of ve r bal and n on-verbal abu se we re t he eme rgence
of trauma and trust issues for perpetrators. In this study, the perpetrators of childhood violence of
the participants are mostly their parents, that is, father and mother. It was also found that most of
the participants still live with the perpetrators, mainly their parents. Even today, when they grow up
with a bad childhood experience caused by someone living with them, they have the fear or worry
that the abuse could happen again at any moment. Along with feeling traumatized, many participants
felt a loss of self-condence. They realize themselves either at the primitive level or at the level of
adaptation. The participants in this study had low or below average levels of self-actualization. This
is supported by the data that the eect felt by the participants so far is a loss of self-condence. As
previously discussed, self-actualization is self-actualization or maturation, which involves realizing
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one’s full potential by maximizing one’s abilities and becoming one’s most complete self (Maslow,
1970). Of course, you need to believe in yourself to maximize your abilities and be yourself. Lack of
self-condence in participants can be an obstacle to maximizing their potential.
The results of the study support the hypothesis that childhood verbal and nonverbal abuse
have a signicant negative relationship between self-actualization in early adulthood. This conrms
that the higher the level of anxiety, the lower the level of self-realization. This study also found that
exposure to verbal and non-verbal abuse in childhood causes a wide variety of psychological eects,
such as trauma, loss of personal self-condence, self-loathing, and the development of a fearful-
anxious personality, and their elimination is extremely important.
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