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Cross-validating a causal model relating attributional style, self-esteem, and depression: an heuristic study
1Department of Educational Psychology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Psychological Reports
|February 1, 1994
Summary
This study found that attributional style dimensions influence depression through self-esteem, not directly. The reformulated learned helplessness theory
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- The reformulated learned helplessness theory posits links between attributional style, self-esteem, and depression.
- Previous research failed to confirm this model, possibly due to using non-patient populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To retest the learned helplessness model in a psychiatric patient population, including those diagnosed with depression.
- To investigate the relationship between attributional style, self-esteem, and depression in a clinical sample.
Main Methods:
- Path analysis was employed to examine causal relationships between variables.
- The study population comprised psychiatric patients, many with diagnosed depression.
Main Results:
- Neither the original learned helplessness model nor the alternative model proposed by Pillow et al. were confirmed.
- A modified model best fit the data, indicating that attributional dimensions impact depression exclusively via self-esteem mediation.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest a significant mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between attributional style and depression.
- The results challenge existing models and propose a revised understanding of depression's etiology in psychiatric patients.