De Relatie Tussen een Vijandige Attributiestijl en Reactieve Agressie met Maladaptieve Emotieregulatiestrategieën als Mediator

Abstract

Aggression in children shapes a large group of problem behaviors within mental health care. In addition, aggression can have lifelong negative consequences for the children. To provide more tailored treatments, gaining knowledge on underlying processes of aggression is important. The aim of this study is to investigate the relation between hostile attribution bias and reactive aggression and examine whether this relation is mediated by maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. In total 89 children, ranging from eight to twelve years old, participated in this study. Hostile attribution bias, reactive aggression and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies were measured by self-report questionnaires. Results showed that there was relation between hostile attribution bias and reactive aggression. In addition, this study found that this relation was not mediated by maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. Thus, children who interpreted behavior of others as hostile, did not show more reactive aggression, and this relation is not mediated by inadequate regulation of emotions. The findings in this study were in contrast with previous literature, however the current study can be a starting point to understand and investigate the possible predictors of aggressive behavior in children.