Abstract :
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.
