This study tested an integrative, multipathway model designed to explain bidirectional effectsof the attributions and coercive behaviors of mothers and sons in the context of a longitudinalstudy. Subjects were 246 mothers and sons who were 7–9 years of age. Mothers'and sons' attributions about one another's intent were significantly related to theaggressiveness of the behavior that each of them directed toward the other. Boys' earlieraggression did not significantly predict the mothers' subsequent attributions, whereasmothers' negative behavior indeed predicted subsequent negative attributions on the part ofthe boys. Even after considering children's earlier negative behavior, children'snegative attributions about their mothers helped explain the aggressiveness of their subsequentbehavior. The same was not true for mothers whose earlier attributions indirectly influenced theirsubsequent aggressive behavior.