Unemployment and depressive affect: A motivational and attributional analysis.

Hypothesized on the basis of expectancy/valence theory that the negative affect that follows failure to obtain employment will be stronger among those individuals who are more strongly motivated to seek employment than among those who are less motivated. This hypothesis was tested by administering a questionnaire to 212 unemployed youth (mean age 19.76 yrs). Consistent with the hypothesis, results show that Ss who indicated in their ratings that they were highly motivated to get a job also provided higher ratings of depressive affect. Those Ss with higher levels of depressive affect were less likely to blame themselves for their unemployment and more likely to blame external difficulties, such as the current economic situation. They also provided higher ratings of the valence or perceived attractiveness of work itself. Their retrospective ratings concerning how confident they were of getting a job on leaving school and how much they needed and tried for a job also tended to be higher than those of the less depressed Ss. Results are discussed in relation to the expectancy/valence approach, A. T. Beck's (1967, 1976, 1979) theory of depression, helplessness theory of depression, and recent discussions of cognitive–affect linkages that employ attribution concepts. (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributional styles and life events in the classroom: Vulnerability and invulnerability to depressive mood reactions.

A core prediction of the reformulated model of learned helplessness and depression states that when confronted with the same negative life event, people who display a tendency to attribute negative outcomes to internal, stable, or global factors should be more likely to experience a depressive reaction than people who typically attribute negative outcomes to external, unstable, or specific factors. The present study tested that prediction with 227 undergraduates by determining whether the content of Ss' attributional styles at 1 point in time predicted the severity of their depressive response (Multiple Affect Adjective Check List) to receiving a low grade on an exam at a subsequent time. Consistent with the prediction, Ss with an internal or global attributional style for negative outcomes at Time 1 experienced a depressive response when confronted with a low grade; Ss with an external or specific attributional style were invulnerable to this response. In contrast to results for the internality and globality dimensions, Ss' scores along the stability attribution dimension were not correlated with the severity of their depressive response to the low grade. In the absence of a negative life event, Ss' generalized tendencies to make internal or global attributions for negative outcomes at Time 1 were not significantly correlated with their subsequent changes in depressive mood, although there was a nonsignificant positive correlation between severity of depressive response and the tendency to make global attributions for negative outcomes at Time l. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressive attributional style.

143 undergraduates completed an attributional style scale designed by the authors, the short form of the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List. Results show that depressed Ss, compared to nondepressed Ss, attributed bad outcomes to internal, stable, and global causes, as measured by the attributional style scale. This attributional style was predicted by the reformulated helplessness model of depression. In addition, relative to nondepressed Ss, depressed Ss attributed good outcomes to external, unstable causes. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributional style and depression in rheumatoid arthritis: The moderating role of perceived illness control.

Examined the moderating influence of perceived daily illness control on the relationship between disease-unrelated causal attributions and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV) depressive symptomatology in a sample of 58 patients (aged 25–75 yrs) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Eight of the Ss met DSM-IV criteria for major depression. All Ss completed paper-and-pencil instruments measuring depression, attributional style, arthritis-specific helplessness, disease severity and pain and disability. As predicted, attribution?×? perceived control interactions contributed significant variance to depression, after controlling for disease variables and arthritis helplessness. Specifically, internal and global attributions for negative events were associated with increased levels of depression under conditions of decreased perceived illness control. The findings provide support for examining general attributional style in studies of depression in RA and for cognitive diathesis-stress conceptualizations of adjustment to chronic illness. Clinical implications of the results for cognitive-behavioral treatment approaches in RA are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Induction of depressive affect after prolonged exposure to a mildly depressed individual.

Administered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to 44 undergraduate roommate pairs during the 1st, 5th, and 11th wks of a 13-wk quarter. 22 pairs contained mildly or moderately depressed Ss; the other 22 pairs contained only nondepressed Ss (NSs). These mildly or moderately depressed Ss included 8 unremitted depressives and 14 transient-remitted depressives. Analyses indicated that after 5 wks and 11 wks of living together, the roommates of unremitted depressives had significantly higher BDI scores than NSs. Moreover, their BDI scores at 5 and 11 wks were significantly higher than they were at the 1st wk. Results also show that at 5 and 11 wks the BDI scores of the roommates of transient-remitted persons were significantly higher than scores of NSs. Possible causes for this induction of depressive affect include direct induction stemming from day-to-day contact, a modeling process, or increased dysphoria associated with an unhappy roommate relationship. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and unemployment: panel findings from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area study

Studies that have found an association between unemployment and psychological depression often fail to establish the direction of causal influence. Analyses of Epidemiologic Catchment Area panel data revealed that of employed respondents not diagnosed with major depression at first interview, those who became unemployed had over twice the risk of increased depressive symptoms and of becoming clinically depressed as those who continued employed. Although the increase in symptoms was statistically significant, the effect on clinical depression was not, possibly because of the low power of the test. The reverse causal path from clinical depression at Time 1 to becoming unemployed by Time 2 was not supported. The unemployment rate in the respondent's community at time of interview was not related directly to psychological depression but appeared associated indirectly with depression via its impact on the risk of becoming unemployed. Implications for policy and further research were discussed.     

Depressive attributions: Selection of different causes or assignment of dimensional meanings?

Although attributional models of depression suggest that depression is associated with internal, stable, and global causal explanations of events, they do not specify whether the depressive attributional process involves the selection of certain causes, the assignment of dimensional meanings to those causes, or both. The extent of agreement between a priori and perceived dimensions of causes was examined in the present study, and the equivalence of the existing cause-rating method and 2 variants of the dimension-rating method were tested. 51 male and 45 female undergraduates were administered attribution and depression questionnaires. Findings indicate that the choice of causes did not reliably indicate the perceived dimensions and that there was poor convergence between existing methods that assess causes and those that assess dimensions. When causes and dimensions were each measured in a manner that avoided confounding by the other, each made a unique contribution to the prediction of depression scores. Cause ratings alone were significantly associated with depression scores, but the optimal prediction of depression included both causes and dimensions. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressive attributional style and depression following childbirth.

The reformulated learned helplessness model posits that individuals who make internal, stable, and global attributions for undesired outcomes are more likely than others to become depressed when faced with important life events that are perceived as uncontrollable. Two questions arise from the reformulated learned helplessness model within the context of the event of childbirth. The 1st question is whether the relationship between depressive attributional style and concurrent depression found in college undergraduates can be extended to women anticipating the birth of their 1st child. The 2nd question is whether women's prenatal attributional style is predictive of depression in the 1st wk postpartum. 50 pregnant women (mean age 28.85 yrs) completed the Attributional Style Questionnaire and 3 measures of depression during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy and 3 days postpartum. The results provide negligible support for the notion of depressive attributional style as defined by the hypothesis. Depression of clinical severity was reported by 2–6% of Ss during the 3rd trimester and by 10–24% postpartum. (32 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributional style and depressive symptoms among children.

The reformulation of helplessness theory proposes that an insidious attributional style accompanies and predisposes depressive symptoms. The present study investigated predictions of the reformulation among 96 8–13 yr olds who completed the Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) and Children's Depression Inventory twice, 6 mo apart. 83 of their parents completed the adult ASQ and the Beck Depression Inventory at their children's 2nd testing. Children who attributed bad events to internal, stable, and global causes were more likely to report depressive symptoms than were children who attributed these events to external, unstable, and specific causes. This depressive attributional style predicted depressive symptoms 6 mo later, suggesting that it may be a risk factor for depression. Children's attributional style for bad events and their depressive symptoms converged with those of their mothers but not their fathers. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and attributions: Factors responsible for inconsistent results in the published literature.

According to the attributional reformulation of learned helplessness, depressive symptoms are associated with an attributional style that points to internal and global causes for bad events involving the self. 61 tests of the attributional reformulation published in 6 journals (e.g., Cognitive Therapy and Research) since 1978 were analyzed to determine factors that might distinguish findings that corroborated the reformulation's predictions from those that did not. Use of a large sample and hypothetical events was correlated with support for the reformulation with respect to stable and global attributions. However, these characteristics were highly intercorrelated across studies, making it impossible to isolate their independent effects. None of the factors (e.g., nature of the sample, method of assessing depression) examined consistently distinguished supporting from nonsupporting studies with respect to internal attributions. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The causality of causal attributions in depression: A cross-lagged panel correlational analysis.

The attributional reformulation of the learned helplessness model of depression proposes that causal attributions about negative outcomes play a causal role in reactive depression. This research tested this hypothesis by studying the causal role of attributions in depression in 180 college students. On 2 occasions separated by 1 mo, Ss were administered a battery of tests that included an attributional style questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory. The attributional dimensions of internality, stability, and globality were correlated with depression; when the possible causal role of attributions was tested through the use of cross-lagged panel correlational analysis, the hypothesis that stability and globality attributions for bad outcomes might be causes of depression was supported. There was no support, however, for the hypothesis that internal attributions for bad outcomes are a cause of depression. Evidence was also found that unstable attributions for good outcomes may function as a cause of depression. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-blame and depressive symptoms.

Investigated whether internal attributions for bad events are always associated with depression. The depressive symptoms of 86 female undergraduates correlated with blame directed at their own characters. In contrast, blame directed at their own behaviors correlated with lack of depressive symptoms. Behaviorally attributed bad events were seen as more controllable and their causes less stable and less global than were characterologically attributed bad events and their causes. Characterological blame increased with more negative life events during the last year, implying that individuals who blame their character may arrive at this attributional style by a covariation analysis. Finally, characterological blame did not precede the onset of depressive symptoms 6 or 12 wks later. As a result, characterological blame may be a strong concomitant of depression but not a cause. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributions for real and hypothetical events: Their relation to self-esteem and depression.

Examined the association between attributional style, self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and general distress to test hypotheses derived from a learned helplessness model and B. Weiner's (see record 1979-28688-001) attributional model of motivation. 178 male and female undergraduates completed the Beck Depression Inventory, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and an attributional style questionnaire and were asked to make causal attributional ratings about 12 hypothetical events. 151 Ss also were asked to make diary ratings on 14 real events. Attributional ratings were internally consistent across events, but attributions about positive outcomes were either uncorrelated or positively correlated with attributions about negative outcomes, failing to support learned helplessness predictions that a single process underlies attributions about positive and negative events. As predicted, internal attributions for positive outcomes were primarily associated with high self-esteem. Only internal stable attributions for negative outcomes were related to depressive symptoms, consistent with Weiner's model. The pattern of correlation between attributions and general distress was essentially identical to that obtained with depressive symptoms. Attributions for real events were similar in their effects to ratings of hypothetical events. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal explanations as a risk factor for depression: Theory and evidence.

The attributional reformulation of the learned helplessness model as outlined by L. Y. Abramson et al (see record 1979-00305-001) claims that an explanatory style in which bad events are explained by internal, stable, and global causes is associated with depressive symptoms. This style is claimed to be a risk factor for subsequent depression when bad events are encountered. A variety of new investigations of the helplessness reformulation are described that have employed 5 research strategies: cross-sectional correlational studies, longitudinal studies, experiments of nature, laboratory experiments, and case studies. Ss in these investigations included children, college students, poor women, depressed patients, and prisoners. Most of these studies involved the use of the Attributional Style Questionnaire and measures such as the Beck Depression Inventory and Multiple Affect Adjective Check List. These studies converge in their support for the learned helplessness reformulation. (120 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attributional style in depression: A meta-analytic review.

Conducted a meta-analysis of the attribution–depression relation in studies appearing in the clinical, social, personality, and educational literatures. In 104 studies involving nearly 15,000 Ss, several attributional patterns had reliable associations with depression scores. For negative events, attributions to internal, stable, and global causes had a reliable and significant association with depression. Studies in which the attribution factors of ability and luck were measured also showed a reliable association with depression. Ability and luck attribution factors for positive events were also associated with depression. The relations for positive events, however, were weaker than the corresponding ones for negative events. In general, these patterns of relations were independent of a number of potential mediators suggested by authors in this literature, including the type of S studied (psychiatric vs college student), the type of event about which the attribution is made (real vs simulated), the depression measure used, or the publication status of the research report. Conclusions are compared with those of other reviews. Implications for attributional models of depression are discussed. (81 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depression and components of attributional complexity.

Tested the hypothesis that depression is associated with increased attributional complexity. In Study 1, 208 Ss completed the Beck Depression Inventory and the Attributional Complexity Scale. Analyses provided support for the hypothesis. Examination of individual components of attributional complexity revealed that depressed Ss, relative to nondepressed Ss, were higher in level of motivation to engage in attributional processing, the tendency to make complex external attributions, and the use of temporal information. In Study 2, 132 Ss completed the Beck Depression Inventory and made simple or complex causal attributions for naturally occurring positive and negative outcomes. As in Study 1, the depressed Ss made a greater number of complex attributions. The roles of complexity and motivational factors in the attribution process and in depression are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affective and cognitive characteristics of depression in 10- and 11-year-old children.

Used an index of childhood depression to regress indices of emotion experiences, attribution style, and intellectual performance of 82 male and 64 female 5th graders from a rural public school. All Ss completed a children's depression inventory, a differential emotion scale, and an attributional style questionnaire. Teachers rated Ss on their frequency of expression of 3 categories of emotion. 45 Ss whose scores were high, low, or intermediate on the depression inventory also completed the PPVT and the Block Design subscale of the WISC. Results indicate that the depressed Ss were like depressed adults in that they reported experiencing a pattern of emotions including sadness, anger, self-directed hostility, and shame, and they tended to explain negative events in terms of internal, stable, and global causes. The similarity between depressed children and depressed adults on these measures was greater for girls than for boys. Depression was not related to performance on a verbal task, but depressed girls performed worse than nondepressed girls on the Block Design task. The measures of emotion experiences accounted for 78.1 and 46.1% of the variance in girls' and boys' depression scores, respectively, after the variance accounted for by attribution style was partialed out. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Internality, controllability, and the effectiveness of attributional interpretations in counseling.

Investigated an attributional approach to counseling in 2 studies. In Exp I, with 58 female and 24 male psychology students, the theoretical basis for the use of attributional interpretations was tested by giving Ss who had just received a negative social evaluation no information or information that stressed 1 of 4 types of causes: internal/controllable, internal/uncontrollable, external/controllable, and external/uncontrollable. Stressing internal/controllable causes produced more positive affective reactions and performance evaluations among internal locus of control respondents (Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale), whereas externals were more variable in their responses. Exp II (24 Ss) assessed the generalizability of these findings by administering causal counseling to Ss who identified themselves as interpersonally anxious. Utilizing a quasi-counseling design, Ss were exposed to 1 of 2 interpretations emphasizing internal control or coping. Results of Exp II confirm initial conclusions that the effectiveness of causal counseling may depend on the individual's locus of control. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The contributions of attributional style, expectancies, depression, and self-esteem in a cognition-based depression model.

Used structural equation modeling to examine the relations among attributional style (AS), outcome expectancies for future life-events, depression, and self-esteem among 195 college students. Ss completed questionnaires assessing AS, outcome expectancies, depression, and self esteem. Consistent with the hopelessness and self-regulation theories of depression, the 1st series of models illustrated that positive attributional styles (PAS) and negative attributional styles (NAS) had direct influences on expectancies, and that expectancies had a direct influence on depression. An NAS influenced depression independent of one's expectancies for the future. A 2nd series of models, which included the latent construct of self-esteem, showed that the previously modeled relations showing a PAS and an NAS having direct influence on expectancies and expectancies having a direct inverse effect on depression remained consistent. A PAS had an indirect positive influence on self-esteem via expectancies. A PAS also had a direct positive effect on self-esteem, an unexpected finding according to self-regulation theory. The final model also showed that self-esteem was inversely influenced by depression. A LISREL correlation matrix is appended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive correlates of teacher stress and depressive symptoms: Implications for attributional models of depression.

Conducted a test of the reformulated learned helplessness (attributional) model of depression (L. Y. Abramson et al, see record 1979-00305-001). Ss were 75 urban high school teachers who were experiencing high levels of teaching-related stress. Ss were administered Bruno's Teacher Stress Inventory, the Center for Epidemiological Studies—Depression scale, and a specially developed attribution and cognition questionnaire. Results indicate that the teachers experienced a high degree of stress-related depressive symptomatology. The depressive behavior was significantly related to cognitions regarding the consequences of the stressful circumstances, but contrary to the reformulation of learned helplessness, depression was not related to causal attributions regarding these situations. Results suggest the need both for refinements in cognitive theories of depression to distinguish between enduring mood states and transient depressive symptoms arising universally in certain situations, and for the study of depression-related cognitions in naturalistic settings. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)