A model of the association between adolescents’ perception of the quality of parent/adolescent attachment and adolescent aggression was examined, with social cognition and self-esteem as mediators. A total of 68 sixth graders, their parents, and their language arts teachers participated. Adolescents completed measures of attachment with mother and with father, self-esteem, social cognition, and aggressive tendencies. Mothers, fathers, and teachers each completed measures of adolescent aggressive and prosocial behavior. Evidence was obtained for social cognition and self-esteem both as mediators between adolescents’ perceived quality of mother/adolescent attachment and adolescent selfreport of aggression. Controlling for mother/adolescent and father/adolescent attachment and adolescent self-esteem, adolescent higher social cognition was associated with adolescent lower self-report of aggression. Controlling mother/adolescent and father/adolescent attachment and adolescent social cognition, adolescent higher self-esteem was associated with father-reported lower adolescent aggression and father-reported higher adolescent prosocial behavior. Implications for further research are discussed.

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The present study utilized an empirically derived coding system to identify content categories in the spontaneous verbalizations of social phobics in the context of a short-term cognitive-behavioral group therapy. The coding system was applied successfully to segments of transcriptions of eleven group sessions. Evaluation of changes in the content categories utilized by two subjects over the course of the life of the group indicates the usefulness of this coding system in identifying meaningful shifts in cognitive processes during treatment.