The Prediction of university students aggression based on corona anxiety, cognitive empathy and affective empathy

The aim of this research was a prediction of university students' aggression based on corona anxiety, cognitive empathy, and affective empathy.  In regard to the purpose, this research was applicable and in regard to procedure, it was a correlation study. The study community included all undergraduate students of the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili at 1399-1400 academic year with 18-22 age range that among them 287 students were selected as samples by cluster sampling. Research questionnaires included: Buss and Perry Aggression  Questionnaire (1992), Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (2020), and Baron-Cohen Empathy Scale. Data analysis was done by SPSS23 software with Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression methods. The results showed that corona anxiety, predicts aggression significantly and positively (P = 0.01, Beta = 0.57), and cognitive empathy (P= 0/05, Beta= 0/12) and emotional empathy (P= 0/01, Beta= 0/31) predict aggression negatively and meaningfully. A total of 0.59 of the variance of aggression is explained by corona anxiety, cognitive empathy, and emotional empathy. This study indicates the importance of the protecting role of corona anxiety for aggression and cognitive empathy and affective empathy for inhibition of aggression.