The Longitudinal Associations Between Hostile Automatic Thoughts, Moral Disengagement, and Aggression: A Cross‐Lagged Study

Numerous studies have clearly identified that cognitive and moral factors are important predictors of aggression, but the longitudinal interaction between hostile automatic thoughts (HAT), moral disengagement (MD) and aggression has not been sufficiently explored. Based on the General Aggression Model (GAM) and script theory, this study proposes that HAT and MD may form a cognitive-moral system that is associated with aggression over time. Using a two-wave longitudinal research design with an interval of 6 months, we obtained data from 941 Chinese college students. Cross-lagged analyzes revealed reciprocal associations between HAT and aggression, as well as between HAT and MD. However, the path from MD to aggression was unidirectional: MD at Time 1 (T1) significantly predicted aggression at Time 2 (T2), but not vice versa. The findings provide preliminary longitudinal evidence for reciprocal associations between HAT and aggression and between HAT and MD, and for a unidirectional prospective association between MD and aggression.