J. Butters et al., ATTRIBUTIONS FOR REAL AND HYPOTHETICAL EVENTS - DO THEY PREDICT DEPRESSION, Australian journal of psychology, 49(1), 1997, pp. 42-48
Attributional models of depression propose that a negative attribution
al style is a vulnerability feature in depression, but opinions differ
as to whether to assess attributional style for hypothetical or actua
l events. The present longitudinal study examined whether attributions
for hypothetical and real events predicted concurrent and delayed dys
phoria. At Time 1, students made attributions for hypothetical events
(Attributional Style Questionnaire) and real events (Attribution Quest
ionnaire), and completed measures of dysphoria (Beck Depression Invent
ory). One month later they repeated the Attribution Questionnaire and
the Beck Depression Inventory. Attributions for real events formed the
strongest single predictor of current dysphoria, whereas attributions
for hypothetical events comprised the strongest single predictor of l
ater dysphoria. The combination of attributions for hypothetical event
s at Time 1 and attributions for real events at Time 2 provided the st
rongest overall predictor of depression at Time 2. These findings have
several implications for the attributional models of depression.