This study ascertains how positive and negative life events are viewed
by stigmatized youngsters. The causal attributions of a sample of 139
at-risk African-American adolescents are analyzed in a doubly multiva
riate repeated measures design. These students were participants in ei
ther the federally funded Summer Training and Education Program or the
Student Academic and Leadership Enhancement Program funded by the Det
roit Compact. Previous research on these students indicated that they
have higher than norm global self-concepts and their locus of control
is more external than would be expected for their age. The findings of
the current study suggest that the attributions these youngsters ascr
ibed to positive events were significantly more internal, stable, and
global than the attributions for negative events. An ancillary outcome
of this study is to report psychometric information regarding the use
of The Attributional Style Questionnaire.