Explanatory style and the performance of residents

Purpose Explanatory (i.e. attributional) style has been shown to be related to performance, especially when attributions are pessimistic. This study t ested whether this relationship was present for residents. Method The Attributional Style Questionnaire and the Brief Symptom Inventor y were completed by 45 residents. Clinical rotation evaluations and in-trai ning examination scores were used as performance measures. Results Explanatory style and emotional distress were not related to perfor mance, although explanatory style was correlated with emotional distress. O verall, residents displayed an optimistic explanatory style. Conclusion The absence of a relationship between explanatory style and perf ormance may be due to the tendency for this resident sample to be optimisti c. Also, common indicators of residency performance may not accurately meas ure clinical and academic performance.