The role of attributions in psychological reactions to job relocation

Job relocation refers to the process of simultaneously moving to a new job and house and this can cause considerable stress for the relocator and his/ her family. Based upon an attributional analysis, we predicted that negativ e psychological reactions would be a function of (1) number of relocation p roblems, and (2) making pessimistic attributions for relocation problems (t hat is, the tendency to attribute negative events to internal, stable and g lobal causes). Furthermore, these Factors should interact, such that indivi duals with many relocation problems who also make pessimistic attributions will experience the worst psychological reactions. The results from a cross -sectional survey of 93 relocators supported these predictions. As expected , those relocators who had many relocation problems and made pessimistic at tributions reported the worst mental health and relocation-specific stress. In addition, a reanalysis of a longitudinal study of relocators by Martin (1996) also supported the above predictions using attributions of perceived control. Furthermore, the relocators predicted to be most at risk (many pr oblems/low control) reported the worst changes in mental health during the course of the move.