Attributional style and self-esteem: the prediction of emotional distress following a midterm exam.
A midterm design was used to determine whether students' attributional style for negative achievement events interacts with self-esteem and a lower-than-expected exam grade to predict changes in measures of specific and nonspecific depression and anxiety. Participants were 141 students who completed baseline measures of attributional style and self-esteem, as well as affective measures on several occasions before and after receipt of midterm grades. A pessimistic attributional style for negative events interacted with self-esteem and outcome to predict residual changes in a combined measure of nonspecific distress and anxious arousal (marginal trend) but not a combined measure of specific depressive symptoms. Unexpectedly, the greatest residual increases in distress occurred among low-self-esteem pessimists who experienced a nonfailure outcome. These effects did not appear to be mediated by changes in hopelessness.
Ralph
J A
JA
Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
Mineka
S
S
D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012649:Self Concept; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*