The relationship between parental psychological abuse and aggressive behavior in adolescents: parallel mediating roles of hostile attribution bias and neuroticism

Background Adolescent aggressive behavior poses a serious challenge to adolescents’ social adjustment and psychological development. Among various familial risk factors, parental psychological abuse has been identified as an important family factor associated with such behavior. The General Aggression Model provided the theoretical framework for assessing the parallel indirect associations of hostile attribution bias and neuroticism within the observed relationship. Method Using a cross-sectional design, we collected questionnaire data from 1,078 Chinese secondary school students on psychological abuse, hostile attribution bias, personality traits, and aggression using established measurement instruments. Results The results indicated a positive association between parental psychological abuse and adolescent aggression, alongside two significant indirect statistical links involving hostile attribution bias and neuroticism in parallel. The indirect associations through hostile attribution bias and neuroticism accounted for 22.549% and 24.020% of the total association, respectively. Conclusion The findings are consistent with the General Aggression Model and highlight cognitive and dispositional characteristics associated with adolescent aggression. Hostile attribution bias and neuroticism may warrant consideration in future prevention research involving adolescents exposed to parental psychological abuse.