Measures Of Attributional Style Research Articles

Construct Validity of Attributional Style: Modeling Context-Dependent Item Sets in the Attributional Style Questionnaire

The format of the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) lends itself to a consideration of context-dependent item sets (CDIS) and a reevaluation of the factor structure of the questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis of data from 1,346 ASQ respondents revealed that adequate fit was provided by a three-factor (locus, stability, globality) attributional style model that included CDIS. The findings demonstrated that CDIS introduced extra covariation in people’s responses to the ASQ events—covariation that has been accounted for in the past as person (latent) variables or not accounted for at all. The authors argue for the inclusion of CDIS in psychometric models of the ASQ and in models of other attributional style measures that have the same format as the ASQ. In addition, when measuring attributional style, one must account for the person in the situations that are relevant to the style—CDIS allow one to do so.

Depressive reactions to academic failure: A test of the diathesis-stress and mediation components of the hopelessness model of depression

This study aimed to test the diathesis-stress and mediation components of the hopelessness model of depression in an academic context. University students completed measures of attributional style and depression at the beginning of the academic year and again at the end of the academic year. In addition, approximately 4 months after the initial testing session, students were asked for their particular attributions for their mid-semester examination performance and completed the depression measure again. A synchronous, but not prospective, relationship was found between attributional style and depression. However, the diathesis–stress component of the hopelessness model received strong support as there was a significant interaction between attributional style and grade satisfaction in the prediction of students' more enduring depressive reaction. Here, unlike previous studies, the longer term depressive reaction was assessed several months following the experience of a negative life event. This result provides support for the model's contention that a depressogenic attributional style is a vulnerability factor for the development of an enduring depressive reaction. In contrast, no support whatsoever was received for the model's claim that depressive reactions are mediated by particular attributions.

Attributional Style, Depression, and Loneliness: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of American and Chinese Students

Completing measures of attributional style, depression, and loneliness were 198 college students from the East China Normal University in Shanghai, China, and 193 participants from the University of Missouri at Columbia. Students from China accepted more responsibility for interpersonal and noninterpersonal failures than did U.S. students. They also took less credit for interpersonal success than did U.S. students. These relatively maladaptive attributional styles by Chinese students accounted for much of their relatively higher scores on depression and loneliness. The sample differences in attributional style fit well with previous research showing that the United States is a relatively more independent culture and that China is a relatively more interdependent culture. Finally, the observed relations between attributional style and depression and loneliness were very similar across these two samples, perhaps reflecting cross-cultural generality of fundamental human needs for feeling efficacious. Implications for attribution theories and models of cross-cultural differences were discussed.

Attributional style, dreaming and depression

The relationship between attributional style, depression and dreaming was explored by analysing dream reports from 80 subjects for evidence of attributional style using the Content Analysis of Verbatim Material (CAVE) technique. These scores were then compared with a waking measure of attributional style—the Expanded Attributional Style Questionnaire (EASQ) and with levels of depression as measured by the BDI. Contrary to expectations, dream attributional style did not correlate with waking attributional style, nor was there a significant correlation between internal, global and stable attributional style in dreams and level of depression. Results did support previous research that an internal, stable and global waking attributional style correlates with depression.

Incarceration and Learned Helplessness

This study examined whether incarceration, which involves prolonged exposure to an uncontrollable aversive environment, results in the development of a more helpless attributional style. Thirty recently incarcerated male inmates and 30 male inmates who had been incarcerated for at least 5 years completed two measures of attributional style. Inmates who had been incarcerated for at least 5 years reported a more internal, stable, and global attributional style for negative events than did the recently incarcerated inmates, even when controlling for age and length of sentence. These findings suggest that prolonged exposure to an uncontrollable situation may have an influence on attributional style.

Attributional style and self-esteem; The prediction of emotional distress following a midterm exam.

A midterm design was used to determine whether students' attributional style for negative achievement events interacts with self-esteem and a lower-than-expected exam grade to predict changes in measures of specific and nonspecific depression and anxiety. Participants were 141 students who completed baseline measures of attributional style and self-esteem, as well as affective measures on several occasions before and after receipt of midterm grades. A pessimistic attributional style for negative events interacted with self-esteem and outcome to predict residual changes in a combined measure of nonspecific distress and anxious arousal (marginal trend) but not a combined measure of specific depressive symptoms. Unexpectedly, the greatest residual increases in distress occurred among low-self-esteem pessimists who experienced a nonfailure outcome. These effects did not appear to be mediated by changes in hopelessness.

Attributions for positive life events predict recovery from depression among psychiatric inpatients: An investigation of the Needles and Abramson model of recovery from depression.

The authors investigated whether attributions for positive life events predict decreases in hopelessness and depressive symptoms among clinically depressed adults. Measures of attributional style, attributions for recent events, depressive symptoms, dysfunctional attitudes, hopelessness, and life events were administered to 52 depressed psychiatric inpatients treated with antidepressant medication; the measures were readministered 12 and 24 days later. Results indicated that (a) internal, stable, global attributions for recent positive events mediated a significant association between attributional style for positive life events and decreased hopelessness; (b) decreases in hopelessness mediated a significant association between internal, stable, global attributions for recent positive events and decreases in depressive symptom levels; and (c) depressotypic cognitions were not associated with decreases in either hopelessness or depressive symptom levels.

Attributional style for negative events: A proposition for a more reliable and valid measure of attributional style

This study examines the concept of attributional style, first by testing Seligman's (1990) assumption that attributions for positive and negative events do form a single dimension; second by challenging the cross‐situational consistency of the causal dimension of internality; and third by investigating the reliability and validity of negative stability and globality as measures of pessimism and confidence. The results supported the hypothesis that attributional style for positive events and attributional style for negative events should be considered as orthogonal variables and that the dimensions of internality (positive and negative) are not consistent across situations. Finally, even though both negative stability and negative globality were shown to be reliable measures, only negative globality was proven to be a valid measure of pessimism and confidence.

Generalized and event-specific hopelessness: salvaging the mediation hypothesis of the hopelessness theory.

Present research provides little support for the prediction central to hopelessness theory that hopelessness mediates the full relationship between vulnerability factors (e.g. stressful life-events, attributional style) and depression. Indeed, contrary to hopelessness theory, an accumulating body of research indicates that hopelessness moderates the relationship between vulnerability factors and depression. The proposal in the present study was that the type of hopelessness typically measured in the research literature has trait-like characteristics and cannot be used to test the mediation hypothesis. The prediction was that hopelessness would operate as a mediator and not a moderator if items in a measure of generalized hopelessness were reworded to measure event-specific hopelessness. A sample of 153 unemployed people completed measures of attributional style for positive and negative outcomes, stress associated with being unemployed, job hopelessness, and depressive symptoms. The results supported the hypothesis that event-specific hopelessness mediates, but does not moderate, the relationship between vulnerability factors and depression. Implications for hopelessness theory and future research are discussed.

Threat expectancy mediates the relationship between attributional style for negative outcomes and anxiety

Recent research has failed to support the prediction that expectancy mediates the relationship between attributional style for negative outcomes and anxiety. The proposal in the present study was that the mediation hypothesis had not been supported because the measure of expectancy failed to evaluate the type of expectations directly involved in the etiology of anxiety. Beck has proposed that the expectations responsible for generating anxiety often reflect the degree of threat posed by an undesirable life event that may occur in the future. A sample of 104 students nearing the end of university were interviewed and scores obtained on measures of attributional style for positive and negative outcomes, threat expectancy regarding the prospect of future unemployment, and anxiety about future unemployment (“unemployment anxiety”). The findings supported the prediction that threat expectancy mediates the relationship between attributional style for negative outcomes and unemployment anxiety. There was also evidence consistent with the tripartite model of anxiety and depression that attributional style for positive outcomes is unrelated to the cognitive processes that generate anxiety. Directions for future research are proposed and limitations of the present study outlined.

Event-specific attributions and daily life events as predictors of depression symptom change

A prospective study was conducted to investigate whether event-specific attributions, either alone or in interaction with daily life events predict depression symptom change, and whether this is affected by systematic variation in intertest intervals. Baseline measures of attributional style, event-specific attributions, life events, and depression were administered to 96 adults enrolled in a cigarette-smoking cessation program who were readministered the event-specific attributions, life events, and depression measures 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks later. Results indicated that (a) the interaction between event-specific attributions and life events was a better predictor of depression symptom change than were event-specific attributions alone; (b) event-specific attributions and life events demonstrated a tendency to predict depression symptom change over 2 and 4 weeks but not over 6 and 8 weeks; (c) the stability and globality of event-specific attributions was associated with the number of reported life events; and (d) baseline attributional style predicted event-specific attributions 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks later.

Metatraits and cognitive assessment: Application to attributional style and depressive symptoms

This research examined whether attributional style is more closely related to depressive symptoms for some people than for others. In Study 1, depressed patients voicing more explanations for negative events showed (nonsignificantly) higher correlations between attributional style and depressive symptoms. In Study 2, subjects reporting a tendency to ruminate about the causes of events showed stronger relations between attributional style and depressive symptoms. Conversely, subjectslow in attributional complexity exhibited stronger relations of depressive symptoms with positive-event attributional style. We speculated that by asking for ratings of only the single most important cause of events attributional style measures might provide a less adequate sample of the causal thinking of attributionally complex subjects. Study 3 partially supported this reasoning; attributional complexity was not significantly correlated with seeing events as having multiple causes, but it was associated with rating second-most-important causes as distinct from first causes on attributional dimensions. Thus, current attributional style measures and theories might be best-suited to subjects who (a) tend to ponder causes of events but (b) arrive at uniform conclusions about the nature of these causes.

ADHD boys' performance and attributions following success and failure: Drug effects and individual differences

In a previous study, Milich, Carlson, Pelham, and Licht (1991) reported that, compared to placebo, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) boys on methylphenidate (MPH) showed greater persistence following exposure to insolvable tasks, and were more likely to attribute success to internal causes and blame failure on external causes. The current study, using the same task, provided evidence for the salutary effects of MPH on the performance and perceptions of ADHD boys following both solvable and insolvable puzzles and found that subjects exposed to insolvable puzzles showed greater persistence on a subsequent generalization task when receiving MPH as compared to placebo. In addition, a measure of attributional style predicted performance on the task, but not attributions for task-performance. Finally, the current study found no differences between placebo and a “no pill” condition, thus extending the results of Milich et al. (1991) by demonstrating that treatment effects on performance and self-rating measures were directly related to receiving active medication.

Religiosity and Perceived Control of Life Events

Seventy-four British adults, 37 religious and 37 nonreligious, assigned causes to each of 38 hypothetical events. The possible causes were G-d, powerful others, luck, and self. Subjects were free to ascribe as many causes to each event as they felt appropriate. Religious subjects did perceive G-d as a causal agent much more frequently than did the nonreligious subjects, but this effect was basically due to religious subjects' perception of G-d as a causal agent in health-related life-and-death events rather than in occupational/financial and relationships events. There were no striking differences between religious and nonreligious subjects in the ascription of other causes. The findings show the advantages of looking at causal analyses for specific events and types of events rather than confining research to general measures of attributional style or perceived control. This approach will increase understanding of the ways in which religiosity and nonreligiosity affect causal analysis.

Gender and mood as mediators of the relationship between attributional style, daily life events, depression symptoms, and hopelessness

A study was conducted to investigate whether or not the relationship between attributional style, daily life events or “hassles,” and hopelessness depression is mediated by gender and mood at the time when attributional style is assessed. Measures of attributional style, hassles, depression, and hopelessness were administered, in a prospective design, to 100 undergraduate students on two occasions separated by 1 month. Results showed that the interaction of attributional style, hassles, and gender predicted change in hopelessness levels (p <.05) and that this interaction demonstrated a nonsignificant trend toward predicting change in depression symptom levels (p =.07). The interaction of attributional style, hassles, and time 1 depression scores also demonstrated a nonsignificant trend toward predicting change in depression symptom levels (p =.08), but did not predict change in hopelessness levels. The interaction of attributional style and hassles did not, by itself, predict change in either depression or hopelessness levels. These findings suggest that research investigating relationships between causal attributions for negative life events and depression should consider the potential influences of gender and of mood at the time when causal attributions are assessed.

Attributions of common somatic symptoms

Three studies explored the causal attributions of common somatic symptoms. The first two studies established the reliability and validity of a measure of attributional style, the Symptom Interpretation Questionnaire (SIQ). Three dimensions of causal attribution were confirmed: psychological, somatic and normalizing. The third study examined the antecedents and consequences of attributional style in a sample of family medicine patients. Medical and psychiatric history differentially influenced attributional style. Past history and attributional style independently influenced clinical presentations over the subsequent 6 months. Symptom attributional style may contribute to the somatization and psychologization of distress in primary care.

Change in Self‐concept and Attributional Styles Among Academically Gifted Adolescents1

A nonequivalent control group design involving academically gifted students who would participate in a residential summer program where they could achieve “consensual validation” by being with other gifted students (n= 156), those eligible but who would not attend the program (n= 172), and academically competent students (n= 106), was used to identify differences in global self‐concept, the structure of self‐concept and attributional style before, immediately after, and about four months after the intervention. There were no initial differences on any of the measures for the two gifted groups. However, competent students differed from gifted students on both self‐concept and attributional measures. While global self concept for gifted and competent students was similar, competent students boasted significantly greater self‐concepts in the domains of social and physical activities and significantly lower self‐concepts in the academic domain. On the attributional style measure, gifted students were significantly less likely than competent comparisons to take credit or see as pervasive the causes for social successes.In general, differences observed initially were robust over time. Only tentative support for the effectiveness of the short‐term intervention being effective in modifying aspects of social self‐concept among the gifted was obtained. Here, gifted program attenders decreased the extent to which they internalized blame for or perceived as pervasive the causes for social failure subsequent to program participation.The relationship of observed changes in attribution to self‐concept and the effectiveness of short‐term interventions to effect change in cognitive functioning and personality are discussed.

Attributions of Shy Persons in Affiliation and Achievement Situations

ABSTRACT Because research has identified cognitive patterns in shy or socially anxious persons similar to those observed in depression, this study examined the relation of two measures of shyness with a measure of attributional style used in depression research. Seventy-six subjects took the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ; Seligman, Abramson, Semmel, & Von Baeyer, 1979), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, 1967), the Social Anxiety and Distress (SAD; Watson & Friend, 1969) scale, and the Fear of Negative Evaluation (FNE; Watson & Friend) scale. Correlations are presented for each of the latter three measures with the ASQ. Partial correlations are also reported with depression removed. Attributional patterns in shyness were found to overlap those reported for depressives. The pattern of correlations indicates that the measures of social anxiety (SAD or FNE) interact with type of situation (affiliation or achievement). A principle components analysis of the scores supported the validity of the...

The Social Context of Explanatory Style

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The relationship between attributions and depression varies across attributional dimensions and across samples

Two hypotheses implicit in the use of composite measures of attributions in tests of learned helplessness theory (but not implicit in the theory itself) were tested: the hypotheses that relationships between depression and the three types of attributions are equal in magnitude and are linear. To test these hypotheses, data from three published studies of the reformulated learned helplessness theory (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978) were reanalyzed. The hypothesis that internal, stable, and global attributions are equally related to depression was tested and rejected. Increases in internal attributions were related to depression in one sample; increases in global attributions for negative events were related to depression in two samples; stability attributions for negative events were unrelated to depression. The relationship between attributions and depression was nonlinear in one of the three populations studied. Finally, a third hypothesis was tested: the hypothesis that the relationship between attributions and depression is equal across samples. The hypothesis was rejected: attributions for negative events were more highly related to depression in a psychiatric sample than in normal populations. Implications of these findings for learned helplessness theory and for the use of composite measures of attributional style are discussed.