Attributions as Predictors of Coping and Distress

Abstract

Attempts to predict coping, distress, and stress-related pathology with person-related variables have had only limited success. With greater attention to their controllability, focus, and place in the causal sequence, it was believed that attributions might yet prove strong predictors. Two field studies, one large (N = 679) and cross-sectional, the other small (N = 60) and longitudinal, tested this premise. Confirming hypotheses, the perceived controllability of an attribution proved essential to prediction, and attributions for coping failures proved superior to attributions for stressful events as predictors. Results also revealed a causal sequence in which attributions affected distress both directly and by influencing the choice of coping strategy. Implications for future applications of attribution theory to stress research are discussed.