Hostile Attributional Tendencies in Maltreated Children

The hostile attributional tendencies of maltreated children in elementary school across key relationship figures (i.e., parents, teachers, and peers), the relation between children’s hostile attributional tendencies and the frequency and severity of maltreatment, and the role of children’s hostile attributions of their parents in mediating the relation between maltreatment and children’s hostile attributions of unfamiliar peers were examined. The sample consisted of 44 maltreated and 56 nonmaltreated children (females D 51) of mixed ethnicity. Subjects were administered a 20-item measure of attributional processes. The results indicated that relative to nonmaltreated children, physically abused boys were more likely to attribute hostile intentions to a variety of relationship figures, including their parents, an unfamiliar teacher, their best friend, and unfamiliar peers. A positive relation was also found between the frequency of physical abuse and hostile attributional tendencies among males. Finally, support was found for the role of children’s hostile attributions of their mothers in mediating the relation between physical abuse and children’s hostile attributions of unfamiliar peers. The results support a link between physical abuse and hostile attributional tendencies in children in early elementary school.