The Role of Hostile Attributions in the Associations between Child Maltreatment and Reactive and Proactive Aggression

Abstract

The present study examined the relations between child maltreatment and reactive and proactive functions of aggression, and whether hostile attribution biases partially accounted for these associations in a sample of 339 college students (mean age = 19; 51% male). Child maltreatment was associated with reactive, but not proactive, aggression, and instrumental hostile attribution biases accounted for this association. Relational hostile attributions were correlated with both reactive and proactive aggression, but did not play a role in the link between child maltreatment and reactive aggression.