Modeling Attitudes Toward Delinquency Based on Identity Styles, Perceived Social Support, and Cognitive Emotion-Regulation Strategies Among Generation Z Students: The Mediating Role of Agreeableness
Keywords:
attitudes toward delinquency, identity styles, perceived social support, cognitive emotion regulation, agreeableness, Generation ZAbstract
The present study aimed to test a structural model predicting attitudes toward delinquency based on identity styles, perceived social support, and cognitive emotion-regulation strategies, with the personality trait of agreeableness as a mediator among Generation Z university students. In terms of purpose, this was an applied study, and in terms of methodology, it employed a descriptive-correlational design using a structural equation modeling approach. The statistical population consisted of undergraduate students aged 18–25 years enrolled at the Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch, during the 2024–2025 academic year. From this population, 306 students were selected through cluster random sampling. Data were collected using standardized questionnaires assessing identity styles, perceived social support, cognitive emotion regulation, personality traits, and attitudes toward delinquency and were analyzed using path analysis and structural equation modeling. The results indicated that the proposed model demonstrated a satisfactory fit to the data, χ²/df = 2.79, CFI = .98, GFI = .94, AGFI = .90, and RMSEA = .062. Informational identity style, perceived social support, and adaptive cognitive emotion-regulation strategies had significant positive relationships with negative attitudes toward delinquency, whereas diffuse-avoidant identity style and maladaptive cognitive emotion-regulation strategies were associated with positive attitudes toward delinquency. Moreover, agreeableness played a significant mediating role in the relationships between the predictor variables and attitudes toward delinquency. Overall, the findings indicate that attitudes toward delinquency among Generation Z students are simultaneously influenced by identity-related, social, emotional, and personality factors. Strengthening agreeableness, social support, informational identity processing, and adaptive emotion-regulation strategies may therefore contribute to reducing positive attitudes toward delinquency.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Alireza Lotfalinezhad (Author); Seyed Davoud Hoseini Nasab; Alinaghi Aghdasi (Author)
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