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Introduction: Humans seem to have an innate need to understand the world. We address this need in part by generating largely automatic explanations for the things we see and the things that happen to us. Explanations for personally relevant events often involve a set of inferences, called attributions, that behave in a trait-like way and are collectively referred to as an attributional style. A person's attributional style is theoretically predicted to be causally related to depression (Abramson et al., 1978). Method: This article reports a systematic review and meta-analysis involving 153 studies with 177 independent samples investigating the cross-sectional relationship between attributional style and depressive symptoms in samples of youth. Results: The relationship between attributional style and depressive symptoms is in the theoretically predicted direction, large enough to be meaningful, heterogeneous across studies, and probably underestimated in most studies due to measurement error. A moderator analysis suggested larger effects when the attributional style measure was based on a composite of positive and negative events relative to when the correlation was based on negative effects. None of the other moderator analyses conducted yielded statistically significant results. Discussion: We conclude with suggestions regarding the reliability of measures of attributional style and ways that future studies can more effectively support future meta-analytic moderator analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major life events can lead to depression in adulthood. However, as predicted by several depression theories, not only the mere occurrence of major life events but also the way people perceive them determines the onset of a depression. Based on a systematic literature search, we identified 276 studies (N total = 89,600) that examined the relationship between the perception of major life events and depression. We provide an overview of how this relationship has been examined. Furthermore, we meta-analytically integrated 420 effect sizes (172 studies) on the association between the perception of major life events and depression. Most studies relied on college student samples, were cross-sectional, and were conducted in the United States. A more negative perception of events was significantly associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms (r = 0.28). This association was robust across several design and sample characteristics. Furthermore, the perception of major life events and depression were also longitudinally associated with each other (event perception predicting later depressive symptoms: r = 0.26; depressive symptoms predicting later event perception: r = 0.17). Longitudinal research on the relationship between depression and the perception of major life events was relatively rare impairing definite conclusions on whether the perception of life events can predict changes in depressive symptoms over time. The perception of major life events is related to depression. However, further longitudinal research considering a range of different perceived event characteristics and using non-Western heterogeneous samples is needed to better understand their relationship. • Meta-analyses of 420 effect sizes from 172 studies • A more maladaptive event perception is related to depression. • Significant reciprocal prospective associations between these constructs • Further longitudinal research using non-student samples needed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social cognition is often aberrant or impaired in psychotic disorders and related to functional outcomes. In particular, one core social cognitive bias – hostile attribution bias – is proposed to be implicated in paranoia, anxiety, mood disturbances and interpersonal conflict outcomes. However, questions remain about this domain's specificity to psychosis and its relationship to general functional outcomes. The present paper offers a descriptive and critical review of the literature on hostile attribution bias in psychotic disorders, in order to examine (1) its impact on persecutory symptoms in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, (2) impact on other related psychopathology among those experiencing psychosis and (3) relationship to functioning. Twenty-eight studies included in this review after parallel literature searches of PsycINFO and PubMed. Evidence from these studies highlighted that hostile attribution bias is elevated in schizophrenia, and that it is related to anxiety, depression and interpersonal conflict outcomes. While results suggest that hostile attributions are elevated in schizophrenia and associated with symptoms and functioning, there exist numerous persisting questions in the study of this area, including identifying which measures are most effective and determining how it presents: as a state or trait-like characteristic, via dual processes, and its situational variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymorphisms in the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene are related to individual differences in negative emotions, such as depressive symptoms and anxiety. However, it remains unclear what the potential roles of OXTR polymorphisms are in subjective well-being (SWB), which is negatively correlated with depressive symptoms. We examined attributional styles as mediator between SWB and five polymorphisms of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR rs53576, rs2254298, rs1042778, rs2268494, and rs2268490) among 627 full-time college freshmen (M age = 20.90, SD = 0.82 for male; M age = 20.81, SD = 0.92 for female) using structural equation modeling. The results showed that individuals with the OXTR rs2254298 AA genotype and rs53576 AA/GA genotype reported higher scores on SWB, which suggested that individuals with this genotype experienced more happiness. Moreover, external attributional style partially mediated the association between OXTR rs2254298 polymorphism and SWB (β = 0.019, 95% CI [0.001, 0.036], p = 0.035). In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that the genetic variations of OXTR played a role in the individual differences of SWB, and external attribution style could mediate the association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to assess the effectiveness in both the short and long term of a brief and group Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in a university setting, and evaluate if there are changes in the cognitive styles of the participants. Three groups of university students were made: a TCC group (Cognitive behavioral treatment of students with depressive symptoms), a control group (non-treated controls students with depressive symptoms) and a healthy group (non-treated students without depressive symptoms). The results showed a significant improvement in depressive symptoms in both the short and long term, and changes in the cognitive style of the treated group, especially in the long term rather than the short. However, the results of the healthy group suggest that the improvement of the CBT group is not enough to make the subjects show complete well-being. Therefore, the efficacy of CBT for depression seems confirmed once again, as well as the predictions of the cognitive models for the comprehension, treatment and prevention of depression among university students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social functioning impairment has been described in several psychiatric illness, including depressive disorders. It is associated with a deterioration in global functioning and quality of life, thus there is a growing interest in psychosocial functioning remediation interventions. This systematic review aims to review all psychotherapeutic, pharmacological and biological social functioning interventions in depressive disorders.Methods: A systematic search was conducted on PubMed, PsycINFO and Scopus from the first articles to 2019 following the PRISMA guidelines. 72 original papers were extracted from an initial number of 1827, based on the selected eligibility criteria.Results: A growing body of research was observed in the last 10 years, with most studies showing a low level of scientific evidence. The main diagnosis found was major depressive disorder and the principal social cognition domains assessed were emotional processing and attributional style. The type of intervention most found was the pharmacological one, followed by psychotherapeutic interventions classified as "non-specific. The efficacy of treatments showed an improvement in depressive symptoms and positive results for emotional processing and attributional style.Limitations: Because there is a lack of well-controlled designs and really few interventions focusing on its remediation, and low homogeneity on the assessment of social aspects across, a comparison of results and the extraction of general conclusions is quite difficult.Conclusions: Although a promising body of literature has been developed in recent years on the improvement of psychosocial functioning in patients with depressive disorders, more studies are needed to clarify relevant aspects in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aims to understand mediators and moderators of the relationship between stalking victimization and depression. Based on the reformulated learned helplessness theory, which emphasizes the role of internal, global, and stable attributions for negative events in the development of depression, we predicted that the association between stalking victimization and depression would be mediated by attributions for the stalking and characterological self-blame. We predicted that the association between stalking victimization and helplessness attributions or characterological self-blame, in turn, would be moderated by gender, sex-role identity, and length of stalking. Specifically, we hypothesized that female victims, victims possessing a feminine sex-role identity, and victims experiencing longer stalking episodes would be more likely to experience depression in comparison with male victims, victims possessing a masculine sex-role identity, and victims experiencing shorter stalking episodes. The results indicated that global attributions for the cause of stalking significantly mediated the relationship between stalking victimization and depression. The results for stable attributions, internal attributions, and characterological self-blame were nonsignificant. Furthermore, gender, sex-role identity, and length of stalking did not moderate the association between stalking and attributional style or characterological self-blame. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: The relationship between depression and coping-oriented substance use is extensively documented; however, the cognitive processes moderating this bidirectional relationship are not well-understood. The present study investigated whether internal attribution bias coupled with a tendency to use drugs and/or alcohol to cope predicts increases in depression and daily-levels of general negative affectivity, sadness, and hostility.Method: Sixty-seven adults diagnosed with depression were recruited from out-patient treatment settings (66% female, 81% White, Mage = 31, SDage = 13.2). Participants completed measures on substance-related coping, depression, attributional style, and daily affect over a three-week period.Results: Substance use to cope predicted increases in depression among individuals with high-level internal attribution bias. Further, coping via substance use moderated the relationship between internal attribution bias and daily-level sadness, such that sadness was highest among individuals with a high internal attribution bias coupled with greater levels of coping via substance use. A modest, yet, non-significant upward trend in daily-level hostility was also observed.Conclusions: Results suggested that depressed individuals who habitually perceive themselves as being responsible or blameworthy for negative life events are at an increased risk of worsening depressive symptoms and experiencing greater daily levels of sadness over a relatively brief period of time, particularly, when tending to engage in substance use as a mechanism to cope. This interaction effect can elicit greater daily-level sadness as well. Findings may aid in the identification and treatment of individuals at risk of maintaining or worsening their depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of negative affect (defined in terms of lack of optimism, depressogenic attributional style, and hopelessness depression) on the quality of life of women with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Methods: Participants (n = 177) completed either an online or paper questionnaire made available to members of Australian diabetes support groups. Measures of optimism, attributional style, hopelessness depression, disease-specific data, and diabetes-related quality of life were sought. Bivariate correlations informed the construction of a structural equation model. Results: Participants were 36.3 ±11.3 years old, with a disease duration of 18.4±11.2 years. Age and recent glycosylated hemoglobin readings were significant contextual variables in the model. All bivariate associations involving the components of negative affect were as hypothesized. That is, poorer quality of life was associated with a greater depressogenic attributional style, higher hopelessness depression, and lower optimism. The structural equation model demonstrated significant direct effects of depressogenic attributional style and hopelessness depression on quality of life, while (lack of) optimism contributed to quality of life indirectly by way of these variables. Conclusion: The recognition of negative affect presentations among patients, and an understanding of its relevance to diabetes-related quality of life, is a valuable tool for the practitioner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aberrant attributional styles are counted to a set of circumscribed cognitive biases that are implicated in the pathogenesis of (paranoid) psychosis. However, evidence for a specific profile (e.g., an exaggerated self-serving bias, other-blaming bias) has become equivocal over the years. More recently, one-sided (monocausal) attributions have been reported in patients with psychosis.Methods: We compared a large sample of patients with diagnosed schizophrenia (n=145) to nonclinical controls (n=30) on a revised version of the Internal, Personal and Situational Attributions Questionnaire (IPSAQ-R). In this task, participants have to assign probability estimates to each of three potential causes (i.e., myself, others, circumstances) for a specific (negative or positive) event.Results: Participants with schizophrenia displayed an abolished self-serving bias and showed a significant preference for one-sided/monocausal attributions, which was neither correlated with jumping to conclusions nor overconfidence in errors. School education correlated with less monocausal attributions. We did not find any congruence between attributional styles with core delusional ideas.Conclusions: Our study corroborates earlier investigations showing that monocausal attributions may play a role in the pathogenesis of psychosis; this bias unlikely represents an epiphenomenon of established biases. Unexpectedly, attributional styles (e.g., external-blaming) did not shape delusional contents. The true prevalence of monocausal attributions in psychosis is perhaps underestimated in the study, as groups were equated on school education, which was correlated with monocausal attributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nationwide online survey targeting college- and university-based LGBT student groups, community organizations, LGBT electronic mailing lists, and social media was utilized to collect data and measure the associations among victimization, childhood trauma, and attributional style (AS) in relation to depressive symptomology in LGBT young adults. Participants were 18- to 22-year-old LGBT individuals from across the United States, the majority of whom (88.9%) were European American. All participants reported same-sex attractions and/or behaviors in their lifetimes and/or identified as gender diverse. We hypothesized that childhood trauma and victimization (i.e., negative events) would be positively correlated with depressive symptoms and that a positive AS (i.e., attributing trauma and victimization to external, unstable, and specific causes) would buffer the relationship between trauma, victimization, and depression. Despite a nonsignificant moderated effect, positive AS may buffer overall against depressive symptoms among this at-risk minority demographic. Implications exist in regard to promoting resilience among LGBT youth and young adults through cognitive intervention and psychoeducational outreach. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Impostor Phenomenon (IP) is characterized by external attribution of success, feelings of inadequacy, and a fear of being exposed as intellectual fraud. The most frequently used and psychometrically sound IP measure is the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) whose German version has not been validated yet. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties and validity of the German CIPS. In two independent samples ( N = 151; 149), analyses yielded good reliability (α = .87; .89) and item-total correlations (.47; .51). Robust correlations to IP-related variables (depression, fear of negative evaluation, attributional style, locus of control, and self-esteem) supported the nomological validity. Partial correlation analysis controlling for depression revealed a unique attributional style for IP-high scorer which manifests in external-instable attributions concerning success. In line with previous findings, an exploratory factor analysis (Sample 1) yielded three factors ( Fake , Luck , and Discount ), which accounted for 44% of variance. Confirmatory factor analyses (Sample 2) supported this 3-factor-model. The diagnostic application of the German CIPS is encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Maladaptive cognitive biases such as negative attributional style and hopelessness have been implicated in the development and maintenance of depression. According to the hopelessness theory of depression, hopelessness mediates the association between attributional style and depression. The aetiological processes underpinning this influential theory remain unknown. The current study investigated genetic and environmental influences on hopelessness and its concurrent and longitudinal associations with attributional style and depression across adolescence and emerging adulthood. Furthermore, given high co-morbidity between depression and anxiety, the study investigated whether these maladaptive cognitions constitute transdiagnostic cognitive content common to both internalizing symptoms. Method. A total of 2619 twins/siblings reported attributional style (mean age 15 and 17 years), hopelessness (mean age 17 years), and depression and anxiety symptoms (mean age 17 and 20 years). Results. Partial correlations revealed that attributional style and hopelessness were uniquely associated with depression but not anxiety symptoms. Hopelessness partially mediated the relationship between attributional style and depression. Hopelessness was moderately heritable (A = 0.37, 95% confidence interval 0.28-0.47), with remaining variance accounted for by non-shared environmental influences. Independent pathway models indicated that a set of common genetic influences largely accounted for the association between attributional style, hopelessness and depression symptoms, both concurrently and across development. Conclusions. The results provide novel evidence that associations between attributional style, hopelessness and depression symptoms are largely due to shared genetic liability, suggesting developmentally stable biological pathways underpinning the hopelessness theory of depression. Both attributional style and hopelessness constituted unique cognitive content in depression. The results inform molecular genetics research and cognitive treatment approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The goal of the study was to examine two central theory-driven mechanisms of change, causal attributions and relational representations, to account for symptomatic improvement in psychodynamic treatment and supportive clinical management, combined with either pharmacotherapy or placebo, in a randomized control trial (RCT) for depression.Method: We used data from an RCT for depression, which reported non-significant differences in outcome among patients (N=149) who received supportive-expressive psychotherapy (SET), clinical management combined with pharmacotherapy (CM+MED), or clinical management with placebo pill (CM+PBO) (Barber et al., 2012). Mechanism and outcome measures were administered at intake, mid-treatment, end of treatment, and at a 4-month follow-up.Results: Improvements in causal attributions and in relational representations were found across treatments. Changes in causal attributions did not predict subsequent symptomatic level when controlling for prior symptomatic level. In contrast, decrease in negative relational representations predicted subsequent symptom reduction across all treatments, and increase in positive relational representations predicted subsequent symptom reduction only in SET.Limitations: The study is limited by its moderate sample size. Additional studies are needed to examine the same questions using additional treatment orientations, such as cognitive treatments.Conclusions: Findings demonstrate that changes in negative relational representations may act as a common mechanism of change and precede symptom reduction across psychodynamic therapy and supportive case management combined with either pharmacotherapy or placebo, whereas an increase in positive relational representation may be a mechanism of change specific to psychodynamic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This meta-analysis examined the relation between attributional style and subsequent depressive symptoms. Results were based on 52 longitudinal studies comprising 57 samples involving 12,594 participants. A moderate correlation was found between depressogenic explanatory style of negative events and subsequent depressive symptoms. Controlling for prior depressive symptoms, the weighted mean effect of prior negative attributional style on subsequent depressive symptoms was small at β = .10. The relation between attributional style and subsequent depressive symptoms was not associated with moderators including publication status, attributional style measure, depression measure, delay between assessments, mean age, participant gender, and ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicidal behavior, including suicide attempt, may result from maladaptive explanatory patterns for past negative life events, in which a person attributes the causes of stressors to internal, stable and global factors. Conversely, an optimistic explanatory style involves perceiving negative life events as external, transient and specific, and may be related to reduced suicide risk. We examined the association between attributional style and lifetime suicide attempts in 135 college students, covarying age, race and ethnicity. Participants provided informed consent and completed an online survey. An optimistic explanatory style was associated with reduced risk of suicide attempt; this effect persisted in a model controlling for hopelessness and depressive symptoms. The manner in which an individual interprets negative life events may buffer against suicidal behavior. Therapeutic strategies to promote an optimistic explanatory style may be successful in the prevention of suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Sleep and optimism are important psycho-biological and personality constructs, respectively. However, very little work has examined the causal relationship between them, and none has examined the potential mechanisms operating in the relationship. This study aimed to understand whether sleep quality was a cause or an effect of optimism, and whether depressive mood could explain the relationship.Method: Internet survey data were collected from 987 Chinese working adults (63.4% female, 92.4% full-time workers, 27.0% married, 90.2% Hong Kong residents, mean age=32.59 at three time-points, spanning about 19 months). Measures included a Chinese attributional style questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale.Results: Cross-sectional analyses revealed moderate correlations among sleep quality, depressive mood, and optimism. Cross-lagged analyses showed a bidirectional causality between optimism and sleep. Path analysis demonstrated that depressive mood fully mediated the influence of optimism on sleep quality, and it partially mediated the influence of sleep quality on optimism.Conclusion: Optimism improves sleep. Poor sleep makes a pessimist. The effects of sleep quality on optimism could not be fully explained by depressive mood, highlighting the unique role of sleep on optimism. Understanding the mechanisms of the feedback loop of sleep quality, mood, and optimism may provide insights for clinical interventions for individuals presented with mood-related problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background One influential view is that vulnerability to major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with a proneness to experience negative emotions in general. In contrast, blame attribution theories emphasise the importance of blaming oneself rather than others for negative events. Our previous exploratory study provided support for the attributional hypothesis that patients with remitted MDD show no overall bias towards negative emotions, but a selective bias towards emotions entailing self-blame relative to emotions that entail blaming others. More specifically, we found a decreased proneness for contempt/disgust towards others relative to oneself (i.e. self-contempt bias). Here, we report a definitive test of the competing general negative versus specific attributional bias theories of MDD. Methods We compared a medication-free remitted MDD ( n = 101) and a control group ( n = 70) with no family or personal history of MDD on a previously validated experimental test of moral emotions. The task measures proneness to specific emotions associated with different types of self-blame (guilt, shame, self-contempt/disgust, self-indignation/anger) and blame of others (other-indignation/anger, other-contempt/disgust) whilst controlling for the intensity of unpleasantness. Results We confirmed the hypothesis that patients with MDD exhibit an increased self-contempt bias with a reduction in contempt/disgust towards others. Furthermore, they also showed a decreased proneness for indignation/anger towards others. Conclusions This corroborates the prediction that vulnerability to MDD is associated with an imbalance of specific self- and other-blaming emotions rather than a general increase in negative emotions. This has important implications for neurocognitive models and calls for novel focussed interventions to rebalance blame in MDD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction.A preliminary cognitive model of grandiose delusions has been put forward suggesting that persecutory and grandiose delusions shared distinct, yet overlapping psychological processes. This study aims to test this model and hypothesises that participants experiencing grandiose delusions may demonstrate a theory of mind (ToM) impairment and differences in attributional style compared to a control group. Methods.A cross-sectional design compared the performance of 18 individuals with grandiose delusions to a control group of 14 participants with depression. ToM was measured using a non-verbal joke appreciation task and a verbal stories task. Attributional style was measured using the internal, personal and situational attributions questionnaire. Results.Participants experiencing grandiose delusions performed significantly worse on both ToM tasks compared to controls. Furthermore, these participants provided significantly more atypical answers when explaining the joke behind the ToM cartoons. No differences for subjective funniness ratings or attributional style were found. Conclusions.This preliminary study indicated participants experiencing grandiose delusions have ToM impairments which may contribute to the maintenance of this symptom. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Although prevalence rates of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) has been established throughout adolescence, little is known about the progression of NSSI, and consequently, about the risk factors for youth NSSI engagement. This study aimed to describe the overall longitudinal course of NSSI and the latent trajectory classes of NSSI in a population-based sample of adolescents using multi-wave data. Moreover, this study examined whether sex, lifetime history of depression, rumination, and negative attributional style predicted the longitudinal course of NSSI and trajectory group membership. Participants were 617 Chinese adolescents in Grades 10 through 12 (51.4 % girls). NSSI was assessed across eight waves of data. History of depression, rumination, and negative attributional style were assessed at baseline. Latent growth curve modeling revealed that only lifetime depression predicted the longitudinal course of NSSI from Grades 10 to 12, with depressed adolescents showing greater and more stable NSSI engagement over time than non-depressed adolescents. Group-based trajectory modeling yielded three distinct trajectory classes of NSSI engagement: low (69.2 %), moderate (26.1 %), and chronic (4.7 %). Negative attributional style distinguished adolescents in the chronic vs. low and moderate NSSI trajectory classes. Sex, rumination, and lifetime depression predicted membership in the chronic and/or moderate vs. low NSSI trajectory class. NSSI trajectory classes, based on frequency of NSSI, exist and are differentiated by sex, depression history, rumination, and negative attributional style. This study suggests that during this period of adolescence NSSI may be a relatively stable behavior, especially for some adolescents. Negative attributional style may be a salient risk factor for chronic NSSI engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical models postulate an important role of attributional style (AS) in the formation and maintenance of persecutory delusions and other positive symptoms of schizophrenia. However, current research has gathered conflicting findings. In a cross-sectional design, patients with persistent positive symptoms of schizophrenia (n = 258) and healthy controls (n = 51) completed a revised version of the Internal, Personal and Situational Attributions Questionnaire (IPSAQ-R) and assessments of psychopathology. In comparison to controls, neither patients with schizophrenia in general nor patients with persecutory delusions (n = 142) in particular presented an externalizing and personalizing AS. Rather, both groups showed a “self-blaming” AS and attributed negative events more toward themselves. Persecutory delusions were independently predicted by a personalizing bias for negative events (beta = 0.197, P = .001) and by depression (beta = 0.152, P = .013), but only 5% of the variance in persecutory delusions could be explained. Cluster analysis of IPSAQ-R scores identified a “personalizing” (n = 70) and a “self-blaming” subgroup (n = 188), with the former showing slightly more pronounced persecutory delusions (P = .021). Results indicate that patients with schizophrenia and patients with persecutory delusions both mostly blamed themselves for negative events. Nevertheless, still a subgroup of patients could be identified who presented a more pronounced personalizing bias and more severe persecutory delusions. Thus, AS in patients with schizophrenia might be less stable but more determined by individual and situational characteristics that need further elucidation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Depressed individuals tend to assign internal, stable, and global causes to negative events. The present study investigated the specificity of this effect to depression and compared depressive attributional styles of individuals with major depression (MD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and healthy controls. We indexed attributional style using the depressive attributions questionnaire in 164 participants. Additionally, we assessed appraisals characteristic of PTSD using the post- traumatic cognitions inventory (PTCI), depressive rumination, trauma history, and depression and PTSD symptom severity. Individuals with MD endorsed a depressive attributional style to a greater extent than both individuals with PTSD, who were not depressed, and healthy controls. Depressive attributional style was associated with the severity of depressive and PTSD symptoms, number and distress of traumatic experiences, frequency of rumination, and post-traumatic cognitions. Depressive attributions and PTCI appraisals independently predicted MD and PTSD symptom severity. They may thus be useful in predicting MD and PTSD, and should be targeted in psychological treatments of these conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One widespread view holds that vulnerability to major depressive disorder (MDD) is linked to overall increases in negative emotionality. In contrast, cognitive attribution theories emphasize the importance of blaming oneself rather than others for negative events. Thus far, the contrasting predictions of these models have not been directly compared. Following the attributional perspective, we tested the hypothesis that people with remitted MDD show no overall bias towards negative emotions, but a selective bias towards self-blaming emotions relative to those emotions associated with blaming others. Sampling and Methods: We compared a remitted MDD and a control group on a novel experimental test that allowed us to directly compare proneness to specific emotions associated with different types of self-blame (guilt, shame, self-contempt/disgust) and blame of others (other-indignation/anger, other-contempt/disgust) whilst controlling for negative valence and medication status, and excluding comorbidity. Results: In agreement with our hypothesis, individuals with remitted MDD exhibited an increased self-contempt bias (difference between contempt/disgust towards self and others) but no increased proneness to any other negative emotion or overall increases in perceived negative valence of stimuli. Moreover, the remitted MDD group exhibited reduced contempt/disgust towards others. Conclusions: Our results corroborate the prediction that vulnerability to MDD is associated with an imbalance of specific self- and other-blaming emotions rather than a general increase in negative emotions. Based on the composition of our sample, we speculate that self-contempt bias may be particularly characteristic of melancholic MDD subtypes and could be useful for stratification of depression in the future. Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study examined the interactive effects of depressive attributional style and multiple domains of perceived competence on depressive symptoms among 431 adolescents. Our structural equation modeling with latent factor interactions indicated that (1) for girls with a higher depressive attributional style, lower perceived competence in physical appearance was predictive of depressive symptoms over a 2.5 year period, and (2) regardless of gender, among adolescents with a higher depressive attributional style, lower athletic competence was predictive of higher depressive symptoms 6 months later, which in turn were related to higher depressive symptoms 2 years later. Significant main effects suggested that lower levels of perceived social acceptance were associated with higher subsequent levels of depressive symptoms but only for boys. These findings have implications for understanding the roles of perceived competence and attributional style in predicting depressive symptoms among adolescent girls and boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Complicated grief (CG) has been proposed as a psychiatric response to bereavement distinct from established mood and anxiety disorder diagnoses. Little is known about the nature of cognitive-affective processing in CG, nor any similarities or differences compared with the processing profiles associated with other emotional disorders. Three studies therefore investigated 3 broad facets of negative self-processing associated with either elevated symptoms of, or diagnosis of, CG--namely, self-related attributions or blame, self-devaluation, and cognitions about the future self. Method: These self-processing domains were assessed using a variety of self-report and scenario-based measures either linked specifically to the bereavement or more general in their focus. Study 1 used a correlational design in a community bereaved sample. Study 2 employed an extreme-groups approach looking at individuals high versus low in CG symptoms, and Study 3 compared those with a CG diagnosis to healthy bereaved controls. Results: The data revealed a profile of processing in CG characterized by significant relationships between CG symptoms or diagnosis and both self-devaluation and negative self-related cognitions about the future, but the data provided no support for a similar relationship with negative self-related attributions. Conclusions: These findings extend our understanding of self-related cognitive processing in CG. They also suggest that CG is characterized by a cognitive-affective processing profile that is distinct from that associated with other disorders, notably major depression, in the literature. This has potential implications for the psychological treatment of CG and for its nosological status as a post-loss syndrome distinct from depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Youths with high (N = 52) or low cognitive vulnerability (N = 48) for depression were selected from a larger sample (N = 515) of students (7-10 years old), based on their attributional style (AS), negative cognitions (NC), and/or self-competence (SC). Long-term effects of cognitive vulnerabilities on depressive symptoms were examined in a 3-year, three-wave, multi-informant, longitudinal design. Three findings emerged. First, some empirical overlap exists among these three types of cognitive diatheses, especially between NC and SC. Second, the combination of AS, NC, and SC had a significant (but diminishing) relationship to depressive symptoms at 6, 18, and 30 months, primarily due to NC and SC, not AS. Third, interactions between cognitive risk and life events were not significant, suggesting an additive type of diathesis-stress model for depression in young adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Identifying the students' attributional style and helping them to be responsible and have a proper view is of critical importance which can lead them to achieve greater success and creativity. Considering its significant role in being an active or a passive, and demotivated person, the present study was conducted in order to determine the attributional style of the students studying in Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. Materials and methods: This is a descriptive study conducted in Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in 2008-2009 with the population of 2582 students on 343 male and 428 female randomly selected students. The data were collected using the Attributional Style Questionnaire. This is a descriptive study conducted in Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in 2008-2009 on 343 male and 428 female randomly selected students among a population of 2582 students. Results: The obtained data showed that 43.9% of the participants had internal, while 56.1% of them demonstrated external attributional style. Among the female participants, 42.3% used internal and the rest (57.7%) employed external attributional style, similarly, 45.8% of the male participants preferred internal and 54.2% of them tend to use external attributional style. Conclusion: According to the results, the dominant attributional style of the participants is the external style which has a negative impact on their motivation, effort, and academic achievement which then, may negatively influence their success. Thus, it seems necessary to train them the coping strategies in order to reduce their external attributional style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lex C, Hautzinger M, Meyer TD. Cognitive styles in hypomanic episodes of bipolar I disorder. Bipolar Disord 2011: 13: 355-364. © 2011 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Objectives: Cognitive vulnerability-stress theories have recently been extended to bipolar disorder by suggesting that an activation of negative cognition might lead to depressive mood episodes and an activation of positive cognition might lead to manic mood episodes. Alternatively, the manic defense hypothesis claims that hypomanic and manic states are not the opposite of depression but rather contain similar underlying negative cognitions. The objective of this study was to further evaluate these theories by examining the cognitive patterns in bipolar I hypomania. Methods: We compared 15 hypomanic bipolar I disorder patients, 26 remitted bipolar I disorder patients, and 21 healthy individuals in a cross-sectional study. All participants completed the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale, the Attributional Style Questionnaire, the Emotional Stroop Task, and the Emotional Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Results: Hypomanic bipolar disorder individuals showed cognitions associated with depressive states as well as cognitions associated with manic states. The results for the remitted bipolar disorder patients paralleled those for the control group. Conclusion: Dysfunctional cognition in bipolar disorder seems to relate to state rather than to trait. Hypomania includes depression-related as well as mania-related cognitions and can therefore not be considered as the mere opposite of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated individual differences in adherence to masculine norms (AMN) as predictors of concurrent and prospective depressive symptoms above and beyond negative attributional style and explanatory flexibility in a community sample of unemployed men. Sixty-two men from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds were recruited from an unemployment center in a large industrial city and were followed for 3 months. Adherence to the specific masculine norms of emotional control and self-reliance accounted for variance in concurrent depressive symptoms after statistically controlling for attributional processes. At the 3-month follow-up, only AMN predicted depressive symptoms after accounting for attributional processes and initial depressive symptoms. Negative attributional style was negatively associated with the likelihood of reemployment at the 3-month follow-up while AMN was positively associated with the likelihood reemployment. Results suggested that AMN may be an important sociocultural factor contributing to depression that is largely independent of attributional processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The psychometric properties of two paper-and-pencil versions of the Children’s Attributional Style Interview (i.e., CASI-I and CASI-II) were evaluated in a sample of 166 third and fourth graders and a sample of 245 sixth and seventh graders. The results demonstrated strong internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, and a factor structure that was consistent with theory in both samples. Furthermore, analyses demonstrated adequate evidence of the reliability and validity of several dimensional subscale scores and the composite measures of attributional style for both positive and negative events. These results suggest the utility of the CASI in research testing specific attributional predictions of cognitive theories of depression with the dimensional subscale scores. They further add to the literature by demonstrating item-level factor analytic support for a children’s attributional style measure and the feasibility of administration sizes larger than previously tested, which add to the utility of the CASI in large-scale research designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study extended previous research into the role of cognitive style in predicting depressive symptoms in children by examining positive attributional style for positive events in a prospective manner, with a focus on the influence of prior life experience. A non-clinical sample of 102 children (aged 10-12 years) was recruited. Participants completed self-report measures of depression, attributional style, stressful life events, and positive life events on two occasions (approximately 6 months apart). Positive attributional style for positive events moderated the relationship between negative life events and follow-up depressive symptoms. Number of positive events did not significantly moderate the negative life events-depression symptoms relationship although there was a trend in the expected direction. Positive attributional style for positive events appeared to act as both a mediator and moderator in the positive events-depression symptoms relationship. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We examined the distinctiveness of three “positive thinking” variables (self-esteem, trait hope, and positive attributional style) in predicting future high school grades, teacher-rated adjustment, and students’ reports of their affective states. Seven hundred eighty-four high school students (382 males and 394 females; 8 did not indicate their gender) completed Time 1 measures of verbal and numerical ability, positive thinking, and indices of emotional well-being (positive affect, sadness, fear, and hostility), and Time 2 measures of hope, self-esteem, and emotional well-being. Multi-level random coefficient modelling revealed that each positive thinking variable was distinctive in some contexts but not others. Hope was a predictor of positive affect and the best predictor of grades, negative attributional style was the best predictor of increases in hostility and fear, and low self-esteem was the best predictor of increases in sadness. We also found that sadness at Time 1 predicted decreases in self-esteem at Time 2. The results are discussed with reference to the importance of positive thinking for building resilience. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Findings from decades of research suggest that a perceived lack of parental care and overprotection are positively related to later symptoms of emotional disorders in children and adolescents. The present study used a cross-sectional design to evaluate models investigating reported family environment during childhood, current attachments, control-related cognitions, and current symptoms of emotional disorders in adolescence. It was hypothesized the effect of a perceived controlling and rejecting family environment during childhood would influence current depression and anxiety, and that these effects would be partially accounted for by the quality of current attachments, perceived control, and attributional style. A sample of 234 university students was assessed. Regression analyses of variables, including analyses of indirect effects, were conducted. As predicted, current attachment, perceived control, and attributional style helped to account for relationships between some family variables, and depression and anxiety. Findings are discussed with respect to the interplay of family variables and models of emotional disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the current study was to test the symptom component of the hopelessness theory of depression in a sample of 39 children between the ages of seven and 13 currently exhibiting clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms. Children were categorized into subgroups on the basis of whether or not they (1) possessed a depressogenic attributional style and (2) experienced a negative event prior to the onset of their depressive symptoms. Although children with and without a vulnerability-stress match did not differ in terms of either overall symptom severity or level of non-hopelessness depression symptoms, children with a vulnerability-stress match exhibited higher levels of both hopelessness and hopelessness depression symptoms. In addition, although children in both groups were equally likely to receive a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, minor depressive disorder, dysthymia, and adjustment disorder with depressed mood, children with a vulnerability-stress match were more likely than children without a vulnerability-stress match to receive a diagnosis of hopelessness depression based on criteria set forth by Alloy et al. [J Abnormal Psychol 109:403–418, ]. Last, hopelessness depression symptoms exhibited a significantly greater association with hopelessness than did non-hopelessness depression symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Parenting factors may be important to the development of attributional style in adolescence, which in turn relates to depression symptoms. These relationships have mainly been considered in terms of social risk mechanisms, and little is known about the role of genetic influences. Method: Self-reported measures of attributional style, depression symptoms and parental disciplinary styles were administered to over 1300 adolescent twin and sibling pairs. Model-fitting techniques were used to examine the role of genetic and environmental influences. Results: Moderate genetic influences on attributional style were demonstrated, and furthermore, its association with depression reflected considerable genetic effects. Familial factors were implicated in the association between attributional style and punitive parenting, although genetic from shared environmental causes could not be distinguished. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that attributional style is influenced by genetic, as well as social factors. Implications for aetiological pathways integrating cognitive, genetic and social factors on adolescent depression are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study empirically investigated the role of adaptive and maladaptive components of humour in the relation between attributional style and dysphoria. Four hundred eighteen students (134 male, 282 female; 2 respondents did not indicate gender) completed questionnaires measuring attributional style, humour styles and depressive symptoms. Among men and women, higher levels of affiliative and self-enhancing humour, and lower levels of self-defeating humour, were each associated with fewer depressive symptoms. Additionally, higher levels of affiliative humour provided a buffer against the deleterious effects of a negative attributional style in men, but not women. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been widely documented that individuals who explain negative life events with a depressogenic attributional style (stable, global attributions) tend to have increased rates of depression and other poor outcomes (e.g., Sweeny, Anderson, & Bailey, ). The Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanations (CAVE) is a method of assessing attributional style in spontaneously-generated causal attributions appearing in accounts of real events (Peterson, Schulman, Castellon, & Seligman, ). Seventy life story interviews obtained from a diverse community sample of midlife adults were coded for attributional style with the CAVE technique and also for the theme of contamination (scenes in which good events turn to bad outcomes, McAdams, Reynolds, Lewis, Patten, & Bowman, ). While depressogenic attributional style and contamination sequences were unrelated to each other, both were shown to independently predict self-reported depression and low life satisfaction. In addition, while the observed relationships between depressogenic attributional style and these self-report variables were no longer significant after controlling for neuroticism, a similar pattern was not observed for contamination sequences. This study forges possible connections between cognitive theories of depression and the narrative study of adult identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) is based on theory postulating that attributional style is comprised of three dimensions: internality, stability and globality. The ASQ asks respondents to consider hypothetical events and generate their own cause for each event, rating that cause along 7-point scales corresponding to each of the three attributional dimensions. This study examined whether there is statistical support for these theoretical dimensions in a multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) model, in comparison with alternative models. The six negative events of the ASQ were completed by a large sample of University undergraduates (n=2748). Confirmatory factor analysis of the MTMM model gave χ2 (df=113)=236.89, p<0.01, and goodness of fit measures: CFI=0.98; NFI=0.97; and RMSEA=0.02, indicating a very good fit between model and data. This model had a significantly better fit than alternative models, providing statistical support for the MTMM model, and hence the three dimensions of attributional style measured by the negative events of the ASQ. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

BackgroundEmotional distress has major implications for employees and employers. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a recommended treatment, but demand outstrips supply. CBT is well suited to computerization. Most employee assistance programmes have not been systematically evaluated and computerized CBT has not previously been studied in the workplace.AimsTo evaluate the effect of an 8 week computerized cognitive behavioural therapy programme, ‘Beating The Blues’, on emotional distress in employees with recent stress-related absenteeism, and to explore the reasons for non-participation.MethodsAn open, randomized trial in a London NHS occupational health department. Forty-eight public sector employees, with 10 or more cumulative days stress-related absenteeism in the last 6 months, randomized equally to ‘Beating The Blues’ plus conventional care, or conventional care alone. Main outcome measures were Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Attributional Style Questionnaire scores at end of treatment and 1, 3 and 6 months later; and reasons for non-participation.ResultsAt end of treatment and 1 month later, adjusted mean depression scores and adjusted mean negative attributional style scores were significantly lower in the intervention group. One month post-treatment, adjusted mean anxiety scores were also significantly lower in the intervention group. The differences were not statistically significant at 3 and 6 months post-treatment. Non-participation was common and related to access problems, preference for other treatments, time commitment, scepticism about the intervention and the employer connection.Conclusions‘Beating The Blues’ may accelerate psychological recovery in employees with recent stress-related absenteeism. Greater flexibility and accessibility might improve uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to assess hypotheses derived from the hopelessness theory of depression (Abramson, Metalsky, & Alloy, 1989), specifically, that negative attributional style would be associated with depressive symptoms and that negative life events would interact with negative attributional style to explain depressive symptoms in a sample of persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). The research was cross sectional in design. Data was collected via survey from 495 persons with MS. Attributional style was positively associated with depressive symptoms across the whole sample. The proposition that negative life events would interact with negative attributional style to explain depressive symptoms was also supported, although only for global attributional style. Longitudinal studies would assist in determining the causal direction proposed by the hopelessness theory of depression in this population, It is also appropriate that clinicians consider attributional style in persons with MS whom they are treating for depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study examined peer rejection as a predictor of adolescent depressive symptoms during the critical developmental period associated with substantial increases in the prevalence of girls' depression. In a sample of 158 adolescents aged 15-17 years, a peer nomination, sociometric assessment was conducted to examine adolescents' peer status at an initial time point, along with self-report measures of depressive symptoms, depressogenic attributions, and peer importance. Adolescents completed a second measure of depressive symptoms 17 months later. Results were consistent with integrated cognitive vulnerability-stress and cognitive dissonance models, particularly for girls. Specifically, peer rejection was a significant prospective predictor of depressive symptoms when combined with high levels of importance ascribed to peer status and high levels of adolescents' depressogenic attributional styles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recovery model of depression (Needles & Abramson, 1990 Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 99, 156-165) proposes that depressed individuals who exhibit an enhancing attributional style for positive events (i.e. make stable, global attributions) will be more likely to regain hopefulness and, thereby, recover from depression when positive events occur. While only a few studies have directly tested this model among clinical and nonclinical adult samples, none have tested a clinical sample of children and adolescents. Furthermore, prior studies testing this model have failed to examine the interactive role of an ‘enhancing attributional style’ for positive events with a ‘depressogenic attributional style’ for negative events, as prescribed by the hopelessness theory of depression (Abramson, Metalsky, & Alloy, 1989 Psychological Review, 96, 358-372). The current study presents data demonstrating that depressogenic and enhancing attributional styles interact to predict differential decreases in hopelessness. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research also are presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: A Bristol general practice study demonstrated the extent to which patients’ attribution style influences psychological diagnostic case rates. We pursue this issue and several implications in this Australian study. Method: A survey was undertaken of six general practices in Sydney, and involving more than 900 routine general practice patients. Subjects completed questionnaires assessing personality styles observed in those with clinical depression, attributional response (i.e. ‘psychological’, ‘somatic’ and ‘normalizing’) to three somatic cues, state depression, lifetime depression, use of antidepressant medication, and recourse to professional help. Results: Responders attributing psychological explanations to the somatic cues had the highest state and lifetime depression rates, viewed their depression as more likely to be a ‘disorder’ and were more likely to have received treatment for depression. Those with a personality style of ‘anxious worrying’ reported increased morbidity across all depression variables, but personality did not make attributional style redundant in multivariate analyses. Conclusions: Interpreting somatic cues in a psychological way is associated with higher rates of reported depression and increased recourse to depression treatment. Thus, a normalizing response style may make depression recognition and detection difficult. Study findings challenge the capacity of self-report measures to detect depression, especially in general practice settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hopelessness theory of depression (1989) proposes that a negative style of thinking, termed “depressogenic attributional style”, is a stable vulnerability factor for depression. Much past research has examined the stability of this negative style of thinking, with mixed results. The present study presents data supporting the “trait-like” nature of depressogenic attributional style, as defined by hopelessness theory, in a sample of 100 psychiatric child and adolescent inpatients by examining patterns in attributional style and depressive symptomatology upon admission to the hospital and again at discharge. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A motivational model is introduced that integrates conceptions of attributional antecedents with those of attributional consequences, and suggests that it is functional to make realistic attributions. This model is applied to the analysis of achievement behaviour and depression. The use of a new experimental paradigm designed to test the model's assumptions demonstrates that realistic attributions maximise performance. The model was also used to investigate whether depressives are more realistic than non-depressives. This research revealed that depressives draw more "pessimistic" conclusions from covariation information than non-depressives. In addition, depressives expect their partners to make more negative attributions about the depressives' outcomes than their partners in fact do. However, these negative views could not be traced back to faulty inferences from covariation information. Finally, research is described showing that, in addition to depressogenic attributions, certain evaluative cognitions need to be present in order to trigger depressive mood reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This research was designed to evaluate whether shyness and depression involve maladaptive attributional style (AS) patterns that are shared or specific, and whether AS mediates the shyness–depression relationship. Results showed that after controlling for overlap between general anxiety and depression, shyness was associated with a maladaptive AS for negative interpersonal events, but not for noninterpersonal events. Because measures of shyness and depression were not correlated, a test of the mediating role of AS was not possible. Regression analyses of individual causal dimensions showed that globality and controllability were uniquely related to shyness (but only for interpersonal events) and depression, while stability and locus were not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluated the Hopelessness Depression Symptom Questionnaire (HDSQ; Metalsky & Joiner, 1991). The HDSQ is a 32-item self-report measure of eight symptoms posited by L. Abramson, G. Metalsky, and L. Alloy (1989) to comprise a specific subtype of depression—hopelessness depression. Factor analytic results from 435 subjects suggested that: (a) Each of the eight subscales of the HDSQ reflects a distinct symptom of hopelessness depression; and (b) The eight subscales, taken together, reflect one higher-order construct—Hopelessness Depression Symptoms. Diathesis-stress results from a subset of 174 subjects indicated that the attributional diathesis × stress interaction predicted onset of hopelessness depression symptoms on the HDSQ but not nonhopelessness depression symptoms. The HDSQ should allow for enhanced precision in tests of the hopelessness theory of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]