The Mediating Role of Normative Beliefs about Aggression on the Relationship between Violent Digital Games and Students’ Aggressive Behaviour

Many adolescents are exposed to violent content in digital games due to their widespread use. Aggression among students is becoming more common throughout the world, including in Jordan. In light of this, the study explored how exposure to violent digital games influences students' aggression. Normative beliefs about aggression (NBAA) are also discussed based on the prediction that this variable mediates the relationships between violent digital games and aggressive behaviour (AB). A cross-sectional study design with 347 randomly selected individuals from Jordanian schools was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences to examine the relationships between variables. The results showed that NBAA and digital games were directly related to AB, and NBAA partially mediated the relationships between violent digital games and AB. This study concluded that violent content in digital games increased aggression. Furthermore, insights were provided into the mechanism behind the impacts of violent digital games on adolescent aggression and suggestions were offered to mitigate aggression.