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Perceived maternal control and support: effects on hostile biased social information processing and aggression among

R Gomez1, A Gomez, L DeMello

  • 1School of Behavioural and Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. RPG@ballarat.edu.au

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines
|June 1, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Maternal control and support influence children's hostile thinking, which then drives aggressive behavior. This longitudinal study highlights how parenting shapes social cognition and aggression in children.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Cognition

Background:

  • Aggressive behavior in children is a significant concern.
  • Understanding the factors that contribute to childhood aggression is crucial for effective interventions.
  • Parenting styles, particularly maternal behaviors, are implicated in children's social-cognitive development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the predictive relationship between children's perceptions of maternal control and support and their hostile attribution of intent and response selection.
  • To examine whether hostile biased social cognitions mediate the link between perceived maternal behaviors and childhood aggression.
  • To explore the role of relational schemas and scripts in mediating these effects.

Main Methods:

  • A longitudinal study design was employed over one year.
  • Participants included 89 aggressive clinic-referred children aged 9–11 years.
  • Data collection involved questionnaires on perceived maternal behaviors and assessments of hostile social cognition and aggression.

Main Results:

  • Perceived maternal control positively predicted hostile social cognition.
  • Perceived maternal support negatively predicted hostile social cognition.
  • Hostile social cognition measures significantly mediated the relationship between perceived maternal behaviors and aggression.

Conclusions:

  • Children's perceptions of maternal behaviors significantly shape their hostile social cognitions.
  • These hostile social cognitions act as a mediator, linking parenting experiences to aggressive behaviors.
  • Findings suggest that negative parenting and insecure attachment contribute to hostile schemas, fostering biased social cognition and subsequent aggression.

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