Attributions for recovery and adherence to rehabilitation following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A prospective analysis

The relationship between causal attributions for recovery and adherence was examined in a sample of 80 individuals (25 females and 55 males) undergoin g rehabilitation following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Parti cipants estimated their speed of recovery and then rated their open-ended a ttributions for recovery on the Revised Causal Dimension Scale (McAuley, Du ncan and Russell, 1992). Adherence was assessed in terms of attendance at r ehabilitation sessions and practitioner ratings for the remainder of the re habilitation period. Participants who perceived themselves as recovering ra pidly attributed their recovery to more stable and personally controllable factors than participants who perceived themselves as recovering slowly. Ca usal dimension ratings predicted attendance at rehabilitation sessions, but not practitioner ratings of adherence. The results, which further demonstr ate the relevance of causal attributions to health behavior, are compared w ith previous cross-sectional findings.