AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR Volume 38, pages 213–221 (2012) Locus of Control as a Contributing Factor in the Relation Between Self-Perception and Adolescent Aggression Marion T. Wallace, Christopher T. Barry ∗ , Virgil Zeigler-Hill, and Bradley A. Green Department of Psychology, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Researchers continue to debate the role of self-esteem in aggression, but research has shown a consistent association between narcissism and aggression in adults and adolescents [e.g., Barry et al., 2007; Bushman and Baumeister, 1998; Stucke, 2003]. The primary aim of the current study was to examine whether locus of control (LOC) moderated the relation between self-perception variables (i.e., self-esteem and narcissism) and aggression in adolescents. Participants were 174 youth (145 males, 26 females) between the ages of 16 and 19 who were enrolled in a voluntary residential program for youth who have dropped out of school. The results showed that LOC moderated the association between self-esteem and aggression such that low self-esteem was associated with higher levels of aggression for individuals with an external LOC. Contrary to expectations, LOC failed to moderate the narcissism– aggression relation. The implications of this study for understanding how self-perception is related to adolescent aggression are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 38:213–221, 2012. C  2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Keywords: self-esteem; adolescence; aggression INTRODUCTION Although some recent literature suggests that high self-esteem is linked to aggressive behavior [Baumeis- ter et al., 1996; Kirkpatrick et al., 2002], findings concerning the association between self-esteem and aggression have still been inconsistent. Specifically, some researchers have noted a link between ele- vated levels of self-esteem—particularly in the form of narcissism—and aggression [e.g., Barry et al., 2007; Baumeister et al., 2000; Bushman and Baumeister, 1998; Washburn et al., 2004], whereas other studies have shown an association between low self-esteem and aggression [e.g., Donnellan et al., 2005; Fergus- son and Horwood, 2002]. As a result of these dis- parate findings, questions remain regarding the role of self-perception variables in aggressive behavior. One issue involves distinguishing between narcissism and self-esteem, which are related, but separate constructs. In essence, self-esteem involves one’s self-evaluation, whereas narcissism includes a presentation that implies that one’s self-esteem is quite high but may ac- tually involve an unstable sense of self-worth [Zeigler- Hill, 2006] with a preoccupation toward receiving ad- miration and positive appraisals from others [Raskin et al., 1991]. The present study attempts to shed addi- tional light on the association between self-perception (i.e., self-esteem, narcissism) and aggression in adolescents by examining one potential contributing variable, locus of control (LOC). According to Rotter [1990], LOC refers to the ex- tent to which someone believes that outcomes are based on his or her own actions or “personal char- acteristics versus the degree to which persons expect that the reinforcement or outcome is a function of chance, luck, or fate, is under the control of powerful others, or is simply unpredictable” (p. 489). Individu- als with more of an external LOC tend to believe that events in their lives are controlled by external forces over which they have no control, whereas an internal LOC is the belief that outcomes in one’s life are under his/her own control [Rotter, 1990]. An internal LOC has been related to a host of positive outcomes, in- cluding high academic achievement in adults [Findley and Cooper, 1983] and emotional well-being in ado- lescent girls [Armstrong and Boothroyd, 2008]. High self-esteem has also been associated with an internal ∗ Correspondence to: Christopher T. Barry, Department of Psychol- ogy, The University of Southern Mississippi, 118 College Dr., Box 5025, Hattiesburg, MS 39406. E-mail: Christopher.barry@usm.edu Received 16 May 2011; Accepted 27 November 2011 Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/ab.21419 C  2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.