Mediating effects of parent-child attachment on the relation between guan and aggression

Abstract

The relation between the Asian parenting construct of guan and proactive/reactive subtypes of aggression was examined in this paper, together with parent-child attachment as a mediator. Measurements were based on self-reports from the child. Attachment fully mediated the relation between child’s perception of guan and proactive aggression. The child’s perception of guan, however, did not predict reactive aggression. Exploratory analyses found that the mother’s perception of guan was not predictive of either aggression in the child. Findings allowed us to identify the child’s perception of guan and attachment as possible co-occurring protective factors of proactive aggression and supported past findings that the proactive/reactive subtypes are differentially predicted. Implications for the prevention and intervention of child aggression were also discussed.