Attributions of Responsibility for Depression of Menopausal Women

Abstract

This study investigated responsibility attributions for the cause of and solution to depression of menopausal women. Traditional college-age students (n = 162) and menopausal women (n = 103) read a vignette describing a help-seeker who was identified as either a non-menopausal 50-year-old woman or a 50-year-old menopausal woman who had either depression or a weight problem. Results indicated that both the identity of the help-seeker and the problem type (depression vs. weight problem) affected attributions of participants. Specifically, help-seekers identified in the vignettes as 50-year-old menopausal women were perceived by participants to be less responsible than help-seekers identified simply as 50-year- old women for the cause of and solution to their depression. In addition, help-seekers with a depression problem were perceived by participants to be less responsible for both causing and solving their problems than were help-seekers with weight problems. Counseling implications are discussed.