Nicole E. Werner

Do Hostile Attribution Biases in Children and Parents Predict Relationally Aggressive Behavior

ABSTRACT Relatively little is understood about the role of hostile attributions in childrens use of relational aggression with peers, or about the impact of family processes on childrens attributions about ambiguous provocations. This cross-sectional study investigated associations among hostile attributions made by children, mothers, and fathers, and childrens use of relational aggression with peers. The sample included 91 children in Grades 3–5 (43 girls), and their mothers (n = 90) and teachers (n = 88). Fathers also participated for a subsample of children (n = 53). Results showed that relational aggression is associated with a hostile attribution bias in children and parents, although findings varied as a function of gender of parent and child, provocation type, and informant of aggression. Overall, mothers’ attributions were more closely related to daughters’ attributions and aggressive behavior than to sons’. Implications of these findings for social information processing models and family-focused prevention of relational aggression are discussed.

Maternal Rule-Setting for Children's Internet Use

Semistructured interviews were conducted with a sample of 109 third through sixth graders and their mothers regarding family rules for childrens Internet use. Cluster analysis was used to identify groups that differed regarding the patterning of maternal Internet rules. Four clusters emerged: traditional (i.e., rules closely resembling common strategies for other media), passive (i.e., rules requiring little direct parental supervision), technology specific (i.e., strategies unique to the Internet), and few rules. Correlates of cluster membership were examined across the following domains: other rules, enforcement strategies, consequences, and child adjustment. Membership in the few rules cluster was modestly associated with poorer child adjustment.