SEX-DIFFERENCES, ATTRIBUTIONAL STYLE, AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AMONG ADOLESCENTS

This study examined attributional style, sex, and depressive symptoms and diagnosis in high school students. The results revealed that (1) f or females and males, higher levels of depressive symptoms correlated with a more depressive attributional style; (2) females and males who met diagnostic criteria for a current depressive disorder evidenced mo re depressogenic attributions than psychiatric controls, and never and past depressed adolescents; (3) although no sex differences in terms of attributional patterns for positive events, negative events, or for positive and negative events combined emerged, sex differences were r evealed on a number of dimensional scores; (4) across the Children's A ttributional Style Questionnaire (CASQ) subscale and dimensional score s, the relation between attributions and current self-reported depress ive symptoms was stronger for females than males; and (5) no Sex x Dia gnostic Group Status interaction effects emerged for CASQ subscale or dimensional scores. Implications of the complex findings from this lar ge-scale, methodologically sophisticated study are addressed.