The Relationship of Father Absenteeism and Peer Verbal Abuse to Aggressive Behavior in Adolescents from Broken Home Families

Abstract

This research is motivated by the vulnerability of adolescents from broken home families to emotional problems and aggressive behavior due to reduced family roles and pressure from the social environment. This study aims to determine the effect of the absence of father figures and verbal abuse of peers on aggressive behavior in broken home adolescents. The research method used is a quantitative correlational approach with purposive sampling techniques. The study respondents were 141 adolescents aged 13–18 years. After data analysis and outlier removal to meet the analysis assumptions, the number of final samples used was 89 respondents. Data were collected using a Likert scale instrument and analyzed through a two-predictor regression. The results showed that the absence of father figures and verbal abuse of peers simultaneously had a very significant effect on aggressive behavior with an effective contribution of 28.9% (F = 17.515; p < 0.01). Peer verbal abuse contributed more dominantly by 22.7% compared to the absence of a father figure of 16.0%. In conclusion, strengthening the role of fathers and preventing peer verbal abuse is important to minimize aggressive behavior in adolescents from broken homes.