Hostile attributional bias and aggressive behavior in global context.
Abstract
We tested a model that children's tendency to attribute hostile intent to others in
response to provocation is a key psychological process that statistically accounts
for individual differences in reactive aggressive behavior and that this mechanism
contributes to global group differences in children's chronic aggressive behavior
problems. Participants were 1,299 children (mean age at year 1 = 8.3 y; 51% girls)
from 12 diverse ecological-context groups in nine countries worldwide, followed across
4 y. In year 3, each child was presented with each of 10 hypothetical vignettes depicting
an ambiguous provocation toward the child and was asked to attribute the likely intent
of the provocateur (coded as benign or hostile) and to predict his or her own behavioral
response (coded as nonaggression or reactive aggression). Mothers and children independently
rated the child's chronic aggressive behavior problems in years 2, 3, and 4. In every
ecological group, in those situations in which a child attributed hostile intent to
a peer, that child was more likely to report that he or she would respond with reactive
aggression than in situations when that same child attributed benign intent. Across
children, hostile attributional bias scores predicted higher mother- and child-rated
chronic aggressive behavior problems, even controlling for prior aggression. Ecological
group differences in the tendency for children to attribute hostile intent statistically
accounted for a significant portion of group differences in chronic aggressive behavior
problems. The findings suggest a psychological mechanism for group differences in
aggressive behavior and point to potential interventions to reduce aggressive behavior.
Type
Journal articleSubject
aggressive behaviorcultural differences
hostile attribution
interpersonal conflict
social cognition
Aggression
Child
Child Behavior
Child Behavior Disorders
Conflict (Psychology)
Cultural Characteristics
Female
Global Health
Hostility
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Models, Psychological
Parents
Peer Group
Schools
Social Perception
Violence
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10328Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1073/pnas.1418572112Publication Info
Dodge, Kenneth A; Malone, Patrick S; Lansford, Jennifer E; Sorbring, Emma; Skinner,
Ann T; Tapanya, Sombat; ... Pastorelli, Concetta (2015). Hostile attributional bias and aggressive behavior in global context. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 112(30). pp. 9310-9315. 10.1073/pnas.1418572112. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10328.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Kenneth A. Dodge
William McDougall Distinguished Professor of Public Policy Studies
Kenneth A. Dodge is the William McDougall Distinguished Professor of Public Policy
and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. He is also the founding
and past director of the Center for Child and Family Policy, as well as the founder
of Family Connects International.
Dodge is a leading scholar in the development and prevention of aggressive and violent
beha
Jennifer Lansford
S. Malcolm Gillis Distinguished Research Professor of Public Policy
Jennifer Lansford is the director of the Center for Child and Family Policy and research
professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy. Dr. Lansford's research focuses
on the development of aggression and other behavior problems in youth, with an emphasis
on how family and peer contexts contribute to or protect against these outcomes. She
examines how experiences with parents (e.g., physical abuse, discipline, divorce)
and
Patrick Malone
Research Scientist, Senior
Patrick Malone is a senior research scientist with the Center. His specialization
is quantitative psychology and his independent research program focuses on developing
statistical models of change over time, especially in health behaviors and developmental
psychopathology. He is particularly interested in novel approaches to understanding
racial, ethnic, and cultural differences in adolescent substance use and other health
risk behaviors.
As a methodological specialist, Dr. Malone col
Ann Skinner
Research Scientist
Ann Skinner joined the Center in 2001 and is a Research Scientist with Parenting Across
Cultures (PAC) and C-StARR.
Her research focuses on the ways in which stressful community, familial, and interpersonal
events impact parent-child relationships and the development of aggression and internalizing
behaviors in youth. She has extensive experience in data management of multis
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