Ka. Hommel et al., The contribution of attributional style to perceived disability in rheumatoid arthritis: A longitudinal study, J CL P MED, 7(2), 2000, pp. 113-120
Citations number
43
Categorie Soggetti
Psycology
Journal title
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY IN MEDICAL SETTINGS
The current study investigated the influence of general causal attributions
on self-reported physical disability over the course of 1 year in a sample
of 42 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Participants completed meas
ures of attributional style, pain, and disability; physician assistants com
pleted objective measures of disability on two occasions, approximately 1 y
ear apart. Results indicated that internal attributions for disease-unrelat
ed negative events assessed at Time 1 were associated with lower perceived
physical disability, whereas stable attributions for negative events were a
ssociated with greater perceived physical disability 1 year later. These fi
ndings are discussed in terms of behavioral and characterological self-blam
e models, respectively. Implications of our findings for clinical managemen
t of RA are also discussed.