A longitudinal examination of the associations between mothers' and sons' attributions and their aggression

This study tested an integrative, multipathway model designed to explain bi directional effects of the attributions and coercive behaviors of mothers a nd sons in the context of a longitudinal study. Subjects were 246 mothers a nd sons who were 7-9 years of age. Mothers' and sons' attributions about on e another's intent were significantly related to the aggressiveness of the behavior that each of them directed toward the other. Boys' earlier aggress ion did not significantly predict the mothers' subsequent attributions, whe reas mothers' negative behavior indeed predicted subsequent negative attrib utions on the part of the boys. Even after considering children's earlier n egative behavior, children's negative attributions about their mothers help ed explain the aggressiveness of their subsequent behavior. The same was no t true for mothers whose earlier attributions indirectly influenced their s ubsequent aggressive behavior.