Cited by 956Bullying, Victimization, and AggressionChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentChild and Animal Learning Development

Hostile attribution of intent and aggressive behavior: A meta-analysis

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De Castro, Bram Orobio, Veerman, Jan W, Koops, Willem, Bosch, Joop D, Monshouwer, Heidi J·2002·Child Development

Abstract

A meta-analytic review was conducted to explain divergent findings on the relation between children's aggressive behavior and hostile attribution of intent to peers. Forty-one studies with 6,017 participants were included in the analysis. Ten studies concerned representative samples from the general population, 24 studies compared nonaggressive to extremely aggressive nonreferred samples, and 7 studies compared nonreferred samples with children referred for aggressive behavior problems. A robust significant association between hostile attribution of intent and aggressive behavior was found. Effect sizes differed considerably between studies. Larger effects were associated with more severe aggressive behavior, rejection by peers as one of the selection criteria, inclusion of 8- to-12-year-old participants, and absence of control for intelligence. Video and picture presentation of stimuli were associated with smaller effect sizes than was audio presentation. Staging of actual social interactions was associated with the largest effects. The importance of understanding moderators of effect size for theory development is stressed.

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  1. [11]11. Cuperus, J. M. (1997). Sociale probleemoplossing bij kinderen met gedragsstoornissen [Social problem solving in chil- dren with behavior disorders]. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.
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  3. [57]57. Steffens, H. (1999). Kindspecifieke diagnostiek en behandeling van agressief gedrag [Individual assessment and treat- ment of aggressive behavior]. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Amsterdam.
  4. [64]64. White, D. Y. (1984). Attributional bias in aggressive girls. Un- published doctoral dissertation, American University, Washington, DC.
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Authors
De Castro, B. O., Veerman, J. W., Koops, W., Bosch, J. D., & Monshouwer, H. J.
Affiliations
  • Utrecht University ,
  • Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
  • Utrecht University (NL)
  • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
Venue
Child Development
Published
2002-05-01
Volume
73
Issue
3
Pages
916-934
ISSN
  • 0009-3920 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-8624
OpenAlex
W2129101716
Cited by
956
References
79
Citations by year
2026: 30 · 2025: 35 · 2024: 25 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 46 · 2021: 42 · 2020: 51 · 2019: 54 · 2018: 47 · 2017: 54 · 2016: 55 · 2015: 58 · 2014: 45 · 2013: 53 · 2012: 58
FWCI
3.97
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Child Development (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
Keywords
aggression, children, peer rejection, moderators of effect size, social information processing, stimulus presentation format
MeSH terms
Aggression, Child, Child Behavior Disorders, Child, Preschool, Female, Hostility, Humans, Male, Severity of Illness Index, Intention

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