ATTRIBUTIONS AS PREDICTORS OF COPING AND DISTRESS

Attempts to predict coping, distress, and stress-related pathology wit h person-related variables have had only limited success. With greater attention to their controllability focus, and place in the causal seq uence, it was believed that attributions might yet prove strong predic tors. Two field studies, one large (N=679) and cross-sectional, the ot her small (N=60) and longitudinal, tested this premise. Confirming hyp otheses, the perceived controllability of an attribution proved essent ial to prediction and attributions for coping failures proved superior to attributions for stressful events as predictors. Results also reve aled a causal sequence in which attributions affected distress both di rectly and by influencing the choice of coping strategy. Implications for future applications of attribution theory to stress research are d iscussed.