Hostile Attribution Bias and Its Relationship to Attachment Methods

Abstract

The current research aims to identify Hostile Attribution Bias among adolescents and the differences between it and the four attachment patterns (Secure, Avoidant, Anxious, Contradictory) among adolescents depending on gender and age in addition to the relationship between Hostile Attribution Bias and the four attachment patterns among adolescents. 400) adolescents from the (second, third) intermediate and (fourth, fifth) preparatory grades of both sexes. The number of male students was (200) and the number of female students (200) were chosen randomly from (16) sixteen schools. The researcher relied on the Social Information Processing Model in Hostile Attribution Bias, and Mary Answorth's theory (M. Answorth, 1978) in Attachment methods. For the Hostile Attribution Bias scale in the retest method (0.80), while the stability coefficient of the Cronbach’s Alpha method for the same scale was (0.71), while the stability coefficient of the Four Attachment Methods scale reached, Secure Attachment using the retest method (0.89), the alpha Cronbach method (0.82), the Avoidant Attachment method, the retest method (0.83), the alpha Cronbach method (0.80), the Anxious Attachment method, the retest method (0.84), the alpha Cronbach method (0.82), and the Contradictory Attachment using the retest method (0.79) Thus, by Cronbach's alpha method (0.77), the results showed:

1. That adolescents have low aggressive attribution.


2. There is a statistically significant difference in Hostile Attribution Bias according to the gender variable and in favor of males, as the calculated t value reached (24.79) which is higher than the tabular t value of (3.84) at the level of significance (0.05) and the degree of freedom (1-396). While there is no statistically significant difference in Hostile Attribution Bias according to the variable of age. In addition, there is no interaction in Hostile Attribution Bias between the two variables (gender and age).


3. Teens have Secure Attachment and Avoidant at a high level, and Anxious Attachment and Contradictory at a low level.


4. There are no statistically significant differences between males and females according to attachment patterns (Secure, Avoidant, Anxious) except for the Contradictory pattern. There is a statistically significant difference in Secure Attachment according to the variable of age and in favor of age (14-15), as the calculated t-value reached (7.24) which is higher than the tabular t-value of (3.84) at the level of significance (0.05) and the degree of freedom (1-396). In addition to the existence of a statistically significant difference in Avoidant Attachment according to the variable of age and in favor of age (16-17), as the calculated t-value reached (4.386), which is higher than the tabular t-value of (3.84) at the level of significance (0.05) and the degree of freedom (1- 396). While there are no statistically significant differences according to the age variable in the patterns (Anxious, Contradictory) or a significant interaction in the attachment patterns between the two variables (sex and age). Finally, there is a statistically significant inverse relationship between Hostile Attribution Bias and the Secure pattern, while there is a positive relationship between Hostile Attribution Bias and Attachment patterns (Anxious, and Contradictory).

Through the results, the researchers presented a number of recommendations and suggestions.