Attributional Style as a Diathesis in Predicting Depression, Hopelessness, and Suicide Ideation in College Students

Attributional style was examined as a diathesis for depression, hopelessness, & suicide ideation. A naturalistic stressor – obtaining a D or F on an Introductory Psychology exam – was used in a longitudinal design to test for the effects of stress in predicting these criteria. Controlling for preexam levels, prestress attributional style was consistently related to poststress levels of depression, hopelessness, & suicide ideation. Both positive & negative attributional styles measured at Time 1 were predictive of these criteria at Time 2. Regression analyses revealed that exam grade, attributional style alone, & attributional style in interaction with stress predicted each of the 3 criteria. (16 refs.) JA