The relationship among the aggressive behavior, hostile attribution bias and childhood trauma in schizophrenic patients

Objective To explore the relationship among the aggressive behavior, hostile attribution bias and childhood trauma in schizophrenic patients. Methods 135 schizophrenic patients were tested with Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS), the Chinese-version of the Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire (AIHQ-C) and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). According to the score of the MOAS, the patients were divided into the aggressive group (n=58) and the non-aggressive group (n=77). The hostile attribution bias and the childhood trauma were compared between the two groups, and correlation and hierarchical regression analysis were used to investigate the relationships of the variables. Results Compared with the non-aggressive patients, the aggressive patients had significantly higher AIHQ-C total hostility bias score (6.27±1.20 vs 5.90±0.97, P<0.05), total blame bias score (8.04±1.97 vs 6.91±2.10, P<0.01) and total aggression bias score (6.17±1.02 vs 5.59±1.04, P<0.01). Correlation analysis showed that the MOAS score, AIHQ scores and the total score of CTQ were significantly positively correlated with each other (r=0.171~0.350, P<0.05~0.01). Regression analysis indicated the hostile attribution bias directly predicted the aggressive behavior(β=0.342, P<0.05)and completely mediated the relationship between the childhood trauma and the aggressive behavior. Conclusion The aggressive behavior in schizophrenic patients is associated with the experience of childhood trauma and the attribution style. The childhood trauma indirectly influences the aggressive behavior by the mediating of the hostile attribution bias. Key words: Schizophrenia; Aggressive behavior; Hostility; Attribution; Childhood Trauma