Attributional style and depression in schizophrenia

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Negative attributional style is a known correlate of depression.
• Emerging evidence suggests this style may be specific to depressive disorders.
• The relationship between attributional style and psychopathology in schizophrenia requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between depression levels and negative attributional style.
• To determine if negative attributional style is specific to depression within a schizophrenia sample.

Main Methods:

• One hundred thirteen inpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia were recruited.
• Participants completed the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS).
• The Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) was used to assess attributional styles.

Main Results:

• A significant association was found between attributing negative events to internal and global causes and depressive symptoms.
• The global dimension of attributional style was significantly associated with positive symptoms of schizophrenia.
• No significant associations were observed between any attributional dimensions and negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Conclusions:

• The findings support the hypothesis that negative attributional style is specifically linked to depression.
• This suggests that negative attributional style is not a general characteristic of psychopathology in schizophrenia.
• The results highlight the potential role of cognitive biases in the specific manifestation of depression within schizophrenia.