Skip to main content
Log in

Parent and child causal attributions during clinical interviews

  • Published:
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Attributions made by children and their parents for the cause of the child's clinical problem were monitored during assessment interviews. Results support previously observed differences obtained through questionnaires, with parents making more attributions than their children to characteristics of the child. This pattern was affected by variations in interview format. Parents and children differed in the locus of their attributions when interviewed individually, but these differences were not present when families were interviewed with both parents and children present. Implications for the methodology of attribution research with child-clinical populations are highlighted.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adelman, H. S. & Taylor, L. Initial psychoeducational assessment and related consultation.Learning Disability Quarterly, 1979,2, 52–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bendell, D., Tollefson, N., & Fine, M. Interaction of locus-of-control orientation and the performance of learning disabled adolescents.Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1980,13, 83–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bugental, D. B., Whalen, C. K., & Henker, B. Causal attributions of hyperactive children and motivational assumptions of two behavior change approaches: Evidence for an interactionist position.Child Development, 1977,48, 874–884.

    Google Scholar 

  • Compas, B. E., Friedland-Bandes, R., Bastien, R., & Adelman, H. S. Parent and child causal attributions related to the child's clinical problem.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 1981,9, 389–397.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frieze, I. H., & Snyder, H. N. Children's beliefs about the causes of success and failure in school settings.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1980,72, 186–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henker, B., Whalen, C. K., & Hinshaw, S. P. The attributional contexts of cognitive intervention strategies.Exceptional Education Quarterly, 1980,1, 17–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, E. E., & Nisbett, R. E. The actor and observer: Divergent perceptions of the causes of behavior. In E. E. Jones et al. (Eds.),Attribution: Perceiving the causes of behavior. Morristown, New Jersey: General Learning Press, 1972.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nisbett, R. E., & Wilson, T. D. Telling more than we know: Verbal reports on mental processes.Psychological Review, 1977,84, 231–259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, D. J., Hastorf, A. H., & Ellsworth, P. C.Person perception (2nd ed.). Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steele, C. M., & Ostrom, T. M. Perspective mediated attitude change: When is indirect persuasion more effective than direct persuasion?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1974,29, 737–741.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strong, S. R. & Gray, G. L. Social comparison, self-evaluation, and influence in counseling.Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1972,19, 178–183.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Compas, B.E., Adelman, H.S., Freundl, P.C. et al. Parent and child causal attributions during clinical interviews. J Abnorm Child Psychol 10, 77–83 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00915952

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00915952

Keywords

Navigation