title: 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.
authors.affiliation: Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708; dodge@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Kenneth A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Dodge
authors.affiliation: Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708;
authors.forename: Patrick S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Malone
authors.affiliation: Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708;
authors.forename: Jennifer E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lansford
authors.affiliation: Child and Youth Studies, University West, SE-461 00 Tollhättan, Sweden;
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sorbring
authors.affiliation: Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708;
authors.forename: Ann T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Skinner
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50000, Thailand;
authors.forename: Sombat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tapanya
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rome University 'La Sapienza,' 00118 Rome, Italy; Universidad de San Buenaventura, Medellin 050001, Colombia;
authors.forename: Liliana Maria Uribe
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Tirado
authors.affiliation: University of Rome 'Foro Italico,' 00121 Rome, Italy;
authors.forename: Arnaldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ateneo de Manila University, 1000 Metro Manila National Capital Region, Philippines;
authors.forename: Liane Peña
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Alampay
authors.affiliation: Department of Special Education, Hashemite University, 13133 Hashemite, Jordan;
authors.forename: Suha M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Al-Hassan
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology, Second University of Naples, 80121 Napoli NA, Italy;
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bacchini
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rome University 'La Sapienza,' 00118 Rome, Italy;
authors.forename: Anna Silvia
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Bombi
authors.affiliation: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20810;
authors.forename: Marc H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Bornstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, China;
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24060;
authors.forename: Kirby
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Deater-Deckard
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rome University 'La Sapienza,' 00118 Rome, Italy;
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Di Giunta
authors.affiliation: Maseno University, 40105 Maseno, Kenya.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Oburu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Rome University 'La Sapienza,' 00118 Rome, Italy;
authors.forename: Concetta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pastorelli
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D006791:Hostility; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010290:Parents; D010379:Peer Group; D012574:Schools; D012938:Social Perception; D014754:Violence
keywords: aggressive behavior; cultural differences; hostile attribution; interpersonal conflict; social cognition