Moral and social reasoning about aggression in girls with and without externalizing symptoms

Clinicians and researchers frequently assume that children who engage in aggressive behavior lack moral reasoning. This study explored the hypothesis that both girls with and without externalizing disorders disapprove of unprovoked aggression for moral reasons, and primarily approve of retaliatory aggression. 6 to 12-year old girls' moral reasoning about provocation and retaliation, engagement in relational and physical aggression, and peer relations were examined within the context of a range of externalizing symptoms and disorders. In addition, this study examined the role of attributions about intentions in girls' evaluations of unprovoked and retaliatory aggression.; 77 girls with Inattentive type or Combined type Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and 58 comparison girls were administered an interview consisting of (1) a measure of hostile attributional bias and feelings of distress and (2) assessments of moral and social reasoning. Assessments of externalizing behavior were based on parent interviews, in addition to sociometric interviews and behavior observations. It was expected that attributing hostile intent in ambiguous situations, feelings of distress, and approval of retaliation, would be significantly related to behavior observations of physical and verbal aggression, teacher and peer impressions of engagement in aggressive behavior, and peer relations. In addition, it was expected that girls with ADHD, Oppositional defiant disorder, and Conduct disorder would be significantly more likely to exhibit hostile attributional bias than comparison girls.; Findings revealed that girls' informational assumptions about intentions made a significant difference to their evaluations of provocation and retaliation. Both aggressive and non-aggressive girls who attributed hostile intent in ambiguous situations were more likely to approve of retaliatory aggression than when they attributed benign intent. In addition, girls who approved of retaliation in response to non-hostile provocation engaged in higher levels of peer-directed aggression, and were more rejected by their peers. Once the effects of Full scale IQ were partialed out, girls with externalizing disorders were not more likely to exhibit hostile attributional bias, or to approve of retaliatory aggression in response to non-hostile provocation. Implications of findings for future research investigating links between social cognitive processes and externalizing behavior are discussed.