Attributional Style: Degree of Depression, Respondent's Sex, and Nature of the Attributional Event

Summary

Attributional responses made to both good and bad events by male and female Ss (N = 117) differing in degree of clinical depression were examined in light of the reformulated learned helplessness model of depression. Data comparison with control Ss provided support for the model's prediction. Clinically depressed Ss assumed more personal responsibility than control Ss for their life outcomes, especially the negative ones. While significant main effects were demonstrated in the clinical sample for all three variables, the significant two and three-way interaction effects revealed a complex relationship between causal attribution and depression.