Examining the Impact of Relative Deprivation on the Tendency Toward Violence With the Mediation of Perception of Social Justice (Case Study: Youth in Hengyang, China).

This study investigates the relationship between relative deprivation (RD)—the perception of being disadvantaged compared to others—and tendencies toward youth violence in Hengyang, a major urban center in China, with a focus on the mediating role of perceived social justice. Using a cross-sectional survey of 1,500 young people aged 20 to 24, structural equation modeling revealed that higher RD is significantly associated with increased violent tendencies, while perceptions of social justice—encompassing distributive and procedural fairness—negatively relate to both RD and violence. The perception of social justice was found to partially mediate the effect of RD on youth violence, suggesting that when young people perceive societal systems as fair, the impact of deprivation on violent behavior diminishes. The findings underscore the importance of addressing socioeconomic inequalities and enhancing fairness in institutional processes to reduce youth violence in urban Chinese contexts.