Interactive effects of attributional styles for positive and negative events on psychological distress

The purpose of the present study was to analyse the relationships between attributional styles for positive and negative situations and positive and negative affect. Four hundred and thirty six undergraduate students completed the Attributional Style Questionnaire and Positive and Negative Affect Scales. The results showed that people with negative attributional style (NAS) or tendency to explain negative situations through internal, stable, and global causes reported higher negative affect and lower positive affect. According to the reformulated learned helplessness model, individuals with NAS who explained positive events with external, unstable, and specific causes scored highest on negative affect. Moreover, the enhancing attributional style or tendency to explain positive situations by internal, stable, and global causes was associated with the report of positive affect. We conclude that NAS has an association with psychological distress and suggest that direction of attributional style for positive situations might play an important role in the distress or well-being of individuals.