Pessimistic Attributional Style Research Articles

Family Stability as a Protective Factor Against the Influences of Pessimistic Attributional Style on Depression

Family stability has been discussed as protective, providing a sense of predictability and consistency in children’s lives. An original measure, the Stability of Activities in the Family Environment (SAFE), was used to evaluate the protective influences of family stability, defined as the regularity of daily family events and activities, within the framework of the Hopelessness Theory of depression. Family stability, as reported by college students about their families of origin, predicted their current depressive symptoms. Family stability moderated the influence of pessimistic attributional style on depressive symptoms in a pattern of a classic protective factor. Family stability may serve as a protective factor against depression by fostering a sense of predictability and controllability in the offspring.

The relationship between dispositional pessimistic attributional style versus trauma-specific attributions and PTSD symptoms

Because a relatively small percentage of individuals who experience a traumatic event ultimately develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it is incumbent upon researchers to identify factors of vulnerability and risk. One possible risk factor is attributional style or the types of causes individuals habitually offer for negative life events. This study examined the association between pessimistic attributional style and symptoms of PTSD. Because of methodological problems with the traditional questionnaire measurement of dispositional attributional style, this investigation added a structured content analysis of participants’ trauma narratives to examine associations between trauma-specific attributions and PTSD symptoms. Dispositional attributional style, measured by the attributional style questionnaire (ASQ), was significantly associated with PTSD symptoms, but trauma-specific attributions more strongly predicted symptoms.

Ethnic Status, Stigmatization, Support, and Symptom Development Following Sexual Abuse

This study examined ethnic group differences in abuse characteristics, appraisal processes, primary caregiver support, and adjustment following sexual abuse discovery. One hundred thirty children from African American, European American, and Hispanic families were seen within 8 weeks of abuse discovery and 1 year later. Hispanic children more often reported abuse by a parent figure of 1 year or longer in duration and living with the perpetrator. European American children reported more internal attributions for the abuse. For European American children, but not Hispanic or African American children, high abuse severity predicted higher levels of shame and a pessimistic attributional style. For Hispanic children, but not the other ethnic groups, high abuse severity was related to lower levels of satisfaction with primary caregiver support. The discussion questions the utility of ethnic group membership as a meaningful way of understanding the role of culture in children's adjustment following sexual abuse discovery.

Prospective contributions of attributional style and arthritis helplessness to disability in rheumatoid arthritis

This study examined the differential predictive utility of attributional style and arthritis helplessness on self-report and observer-report measures of disability. Forty-two individuals from an outpatient rheumatology clinic were followed over the course of 1 year and completed measures of attributional style, arthritis helplessness, depression, pain, and disability at Time 1 and Time 2. Objective measures of functional disability were completed by a physician’s assistant after routine physical examinations at both time periods. Results revealed that a pessimistic attributional style at Time 1 significantly predicted lower self-rated disability at Time 2. Similarly, greater arthritis helplessness at Time 1 predicted lower physician-rated disability at Time 2. Results are discussed with particular focus on the utility of differential disability assessments and the potential role of cognitive-behavioral interventions in treating individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.

Attributional Style and Personality as Predictors of Happiness and Mental Health

This paper contains two studies which set out to examine to what extent attributional style (internal, stable, global) and personality traits predicted happiness and psychiatric symptoms in a normal, non-clinical, population of young people in their early twenties. Two hundred and three participants completed five questionnaires: the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) (version one & version two), Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, Oxford Happiness Inventory, and Langner 22-Item Measure. Sample 1 (n = 120) completed ASQ version one (in both positive and negative situations) and sample 2 (n = 83) completed ASQ version two (in expanded negative situations). Regressional analysis showed that ASQ (in both versions) was the significant predictor of happiness and mental health accounting for 20% to 38% of variances. The ASQ was significantly associated with extraversion and neuroticism. Further, with happiness and mental health as dependent variables and attributional style, personality traits, and demographic variables as independent variables respectively, extraversion and attributional stability (in positive situations) were the significant predictors of happiness accounting for 59% of the total variance whilst neuroticism and psychoticism were the significant predictors of mental health accounting for 53% of the total variance. The results indicated that optimistic attributional style in positive situations was a stronger predictor of self-reported happiness than mental health and pessimistic attributional style in negative situations was a predictor of both happiness and mental health. Extraverts tended to have optimistic explanatory style for positive outcomes whereas neurotics tended to have pessimistic explanatory style for negative outcomes.

Stable pessimistic attributions interact with socioeconomic status to influence blood pressure and vulnerability to hypertension.

We investigated the relationship of pessimistic attributional style (specifically, stable attributions for negative events) and socioeconomic status (SES) to cardiovascular and catecholamine profiles in a biracial sample of 37 postmenopausal women (aged 39-64 years) not taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Blood pressure (BP) variation in response to the demands of daily life was assessed by 24-hour ambulatory monitoring on a typical workday. Subjects were classified into groups by stable pessimistic attributions (high vs. low pessimism) and by SES (high vs. low). Significant SES x pessimism interactions were found. Low SES/high pessimism women demonstrated higher systolic BP (SBP) during the day, evening, and sleep periods of 24-hour ambulatory monitoring compared with the other three groups. A greater proportion of this group was in the hypertensive range (> or = 140/90 mm Hg) compared with the other groups (57% vs. 8%-29%). Low SES/high pessimism women also reported reduced available social support compared with the other three groups.

Evaluating Differences in College Students' Career Decision Making on the Basis of Disability Status

College students with and without disabilities (N = 121) completed measures of career decision‐making self‐efficacy (N. E. Betz, K. Klein, & K. M. Taylor, 1996) and career decision‐making attributional style (D. A. Luzzo & A. Jenkins‐Smith, 1998). Students with disabilities reported significantly lower levels of career decision‐making self‐efficacy and exhibited more of a pessimistic attributional style for career decision making than did their peers without disabilities. Results are discussed in the context of developing effective career counseling interventions for college students with disabilities.

Attributional style and depression in pregnant teenagers.

Study 1 evaluated whether pregnancy is a stressful life event for teenagers and is associated with depression for teenagers with a pessimistic attributional style but not for those with an optimistic attributional style. Study 2 replicated unexpected findings from study 1. Study 3 evaluated whether pregnant teenagers with a pessimistic attributional style will be more depressed after childbirth than optimistic pregnant teenagers. In study 1, 122 pregnant and 96 nonpregnant teenagers completed questionnaires assessing depression and attributional style. In study 2, 43 pregnant teenagers and 49 nonpregnant teenagers completed the same questionnaires. In study 3, subjects from studies 1 and 2 were contacted by mail and asked to complete the same questionnaires; 63 (38%) did so. In studies 1 and 2, pregnant teenagers with a pessimistic attributional style were less depressed than those with an optimistic attributional style and the nonpregnant group. In study 3, pessimistic teenagers experienced a higher level of depression than nonpessimistic adolescents following childbirth. Pregnancy may serve to protect pessimistic teenagers from experiencing depression. The subsequent demands of motherhood may remove any protection from depression afforded by the pregnancy. The experience of depression being relieved by another pregnancy may be a previously unidentified risk factor for repeated pregnancies in teenagers.

Attributional style, depression, and grade point averages of college students.

91 upper-level undergraduates completed the Attributional Style Questionnaire and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; scores on these inventories were correlated with students' cumulative grade point averages. Students with pessimistic attributional style scores had higher depression scores than students with optimistic attributional style scores and those with higher depression scores had lower grade point averages. The need for longitudinal evaluation of changes in these associations is discussed.

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.

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.

Pessimistic attributional style: Is it specific to depression versus anxiety versus negative affect?

Two studies with college students explored the relationship of a pessimistic attributional style to positive and negative affect, as well as to depressed and anxious mood. Both studies revealed that a pessimistic attributional style was correlated with negative affect and depressed mood, but was unrelated to low levels of positive affect. The second study also showed a correlation with anxiety and that the association of pessimistic attributional style with emotional distress occurs for both depression-relevant (i.e. loss/failure) as well as anxiety-relevant (i.e. threatening) events. The second study also provided a longitudinal test of the diathesis-stress component of the reformulated helplessness theory. Results supported the hypothesis that pessimistic attributional style is a nonspecific diathesis for symptoms of both anxiety and depression. Implications for these findings for cognitive theories of depression are addressed.

Predictors of Coping with Pain in Mothers and Their Children with Sickle Cell Syndrome

This study examined predictors of strategies used to cope with pain in children with sickle cell disease and their mothers. Disease severity, socioeconomic status, child adjustment and adaptive behavior, maternal psychopathology, and family functioning were examined in 55 mother-child dyads to determine the predictive potential of these factors on engagement and disengagement coping. While controlling for socioeconomic status and psychopathology in the mothers, 15% of the variance in engagement coping was predicted by family adaptability. Disengagement coping was predicted by internalizing symptoms exhibited by the child, including a negative and pessimistic attributional style, which accounted for nearly one fifth of the variance. Finally, mothers who reported more active strategies for coping with their child's pain were more likely to endorse greater use of techniques to prevent and effectively manage pain in their children. Neither coping strategy was predicted by severity of disease presentation in the children, suggesting the importance of psychosocial factors in adapting to childhood chronic illness and that severity of disease may not necessarily be a marker for families at risk for adjustment difficulties. Findings were interpreted to support a systemic family model in promoting active and adaptive engagement coping in caretakers of children with sickle cell syndrome.

Attributional style as a predictor of success in a first computer science course

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between attributions and performance in a computer science course. It was found that students with an optimistic attributional style performed better in a computer programming course than those students with a pessimistic attributional style. A second purpose was to examine the specific causal attributions stated by the students and to determine their relationship to course performance. It was found that course performance was related to specific causal attributions regarding ability.