Abstract
This study examined the specificity to depression of the attributional style hypothesized by the reformulated model of learned helplessness. Scores on a modified version of the Attributional Style Questionnaire of patients with dysthymic disorder were compared with those of anxiety disorder patients (social phobic, agoraphobic, and panic disorder) and normal subjects. While dysthymic patients demonstrated more internal, global, and stable attributions for negative events than normals, they did not systematically differ from social phobic or agoraphobic subjects. All groups differed from all the other groups on the Beck Depression Inventory. Analysis of covariance that controlled for depression scores suggested that depression contributed substantially to attributional style, but anxiety disorder diagnosis also exerted a significant effect on some attributional measures. These findings are discussed in terms of their meaning for the reformulated model of learned helplessness and the role of attributional processes in anxiety disorders.
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Heimberg, R.G., Klosko, J.S., Dodge, C.S. et al. Anxiety disorders, depression, and attributional style: A further test of the specificity of depressive attributions. Cogn Ther Res 13, 21–36 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01178487
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01178487