Depression, general distress, and causal attributions among university students.

Attempted to replicate I. H. Gotlib's (see record 1984-15153-001) finding of a high intercorrelation among various measures of distress (depression, state anxiety, trait anxiety, psychosomatic complaints, and assertiveness) within an undergraduate sample. Results obtained from 134 undergraduates found the Beck Depression Inventory to be highly correlated with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory—Form Y, the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule, and the Psychosomatic Symptom Checklist, although the assertiveness measure demonstrated some discriminant validity according to a principal-components analysis. A canonical correlation analysis revealed that all 5 measures of distress were significantly related to causal attributions concerning both positive and negative events on the Attributional Style Questionnaire, partially replicating Gotlib's results. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)