Children’s Attributional Style From Middle Childhood to Early Adolescence: Further Validation of the Paper-and-Pencil Versions of the Children’s Attributional Style Interview
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online September, 2010
Children’s Attributional Style From Middle Childhood to Early Adolescence: Further Validation of the Paper-and-Pencil Versions of the Children’s Attributional Style Interview
The psychometric properties of two paper-and-pencil versions of the Children’s Attributional Style Interview (i.e., CASI-I and CASI-II) were evaluated in a sample of 166 third and fourth graders and a sample of 245 sixth and seventh graders. The results demonstrated strong internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, and a factor structure that was consistent with theory in both samples. Furthermore, analyses demonstrated adequate evidence of the reliability and validity of several dimensional subscale scores and the composite measures of attributional style for both positive and negative events. These results suggest the utility of the CASI in research testing specific attributional predictions of cognitive theories of depression with the dimensional subscale scores. They further add to the literature by demonstrating item-level factor analytic support for a children’s attributional style measure and the feasibility of administration sizes larger than previously tested, which add to the utility of the CASI in large-scale research designs.
Abela, J.R.Z. ( 2001). The hopelessness theory of depression: A test of the diathesis-stress and causal mediation components in third and seventh grade children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29, 241-254.
2.
Abela, J.R.Z., & Hankin, B.L. ( 2008). Cognitive vulnerability to depression in children and adolescents: A developmental psychopathology perspective. In J. R. Z. Abela & B. L. Hankin (Eds.), Handbook of child and adolescent depression (pp. 35-78). New York: Guilford.
3.
Abela, J.R.Z., & Sarin, S. ( 2002). Cognitive vulnerability to hopelessness depression: A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 26, 811-829.
Abramson, L.Y., Seligman, M.E., & Teasdale, J.D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 87(1), 49-74.
6.
Barrett, P. ( 2007). Structural equation modeling: Adjudging model fit. Personality and Individual Differences, 42, 815-824.
7.
Becker, D. ( 2000). Penn Resiliency Project: A depression-prevention and life-skills program for children and adolescents. King of Prussia, PA: Adaptive Learning Systems.
8.
Bentler, P. ( 2007). On tests and indices for evaluating structural models . Personality and Individual Differences, 42, 825-829.
9.
Carver, C.S., & Scheier, M.F. ( 1991). Unresolved issues regarding the meaning and measurement of explanatory style. Psychological Inquiry, 2, 21-24.
10.
Cole, D.A., Ciesla, J.A., Dallaire, D.H., Jacquez, F.M., Pineda, A.Q., LaGrange, B., et al. (2008). Emergence of attributional style and its relation to depressive symptoms. Journal of Abnormal Psychology , 117, 16-31.
11.
Cole, D.A., & Turner, J.E. ( 1993). Models of cognitive mediation and moderation in child depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 271-281.
12.
Conley, C.S., Haines, B.A., Hilt, L.M., & Metalsky, G.I. (2001). The Children’s Attributional Style Interview: Developmental tests of cognitive diathesis-stress theories of depression. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29, 445-463.
13.
Cunningham, E.G. ( 2003). Psychometric properties of the Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire. Psychological Reports, 93, 481-485.
14.
Curran, P.J., West, S.G., & Finch, J.F. ( 1996). The robustness of test statistics to nonnormality and specification error in confirmatory factor analysis. Psychological Methods, 1, 16-29.
15.
DeVellis, R.F. ( 1991). Scale development: Theory and applications. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
16.
Dweck, C.S. ( 2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House.
17.
Fincham, F.D., Hokoda, A., & Sanders, R. ( 1989). Learned helplessness, test anxiety, and academic achievement: A longitudinal analysis. Child Development, 60, 138-145.
18.
Fischer, M., & Leitenberg, H. (1986). Optimism and pessimism in elementary school-aged children. Child Development, 57, 241-248.
19.
Frick, P.J., & Cornell, A.H. ( 2003) Child and adolescent assessment and diagnosis research . In M. C. Roberts & S. S. Ilardi (Eds.), Handbook of research methods in clinical psychology (pp. 262-283). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
20.
Gillham, J.E., Reivich, K., Jaycox, L.H., & Seligman, M.E.P. (1995). Prevention of depressive symptoms in schoolchildren: Two-year follow-up. Psychological Science, 6, 343-351.
21.
Haines, B.A., Wells, R., Rueger, S.Y., Conley, C.S., Louie, B.K., Lukk, A.A., et al. (2005). The Children’s Attributional Style Interview: Paper-and-pencil versions (Procedural Manual). Appleton, WI: Lawrence University.
22.
Hankin, B.L., & Abramson, L.Y. (2001). Development of gender differences in depression: An elaborated cognitive vulnerability-transactional stress theory. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 773-796.
23.
Higgins, N.C., Zumbo, B.D., & Hay, J.L. ( 1999). Construct validity of attributional style: Modeling context-dependent item sets in the Attributional Style Questionnaire. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 59, 804-820.
24.
Jacobs, R.H., Reinecke, M.A., Gollan, J.K., & Kane, P. ( 2008). Empirical evidence of cognitive vulnerability for depression among children and adolescents: A cognitive science and developmental perspective . Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 759-782.
25.
Jaycox, L.H., Reivich, K., Gillham, J., & Seligman, M.E.P. (1994). Prevention of depressive symptoms in school children. Behaviour Research and Therapy , 32, 801-816.
26.
Joiner, T.E., & Wagner, K.D. ( 1995). Attributional style and depression in children and adolescents: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 15, 777-798.
27.
Kline, R. ( 1998). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling . New York: Guilford.
28.
Kovacs, M. ( 1992). Children’s Depression Inventory Manual. Niagara Falls, NY: Multihealth Systems.
29.
Lakdawalla, Z., Hankin, B.L., & Mermelstein, R. (2007). Cognitive theories of depression in children and adolescents: A conceptual and quantitative review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 10, 1-24.
30.
Little, T.D., Cunningham, W.A., Shahar, G., & Widaman, K.F. ( 2002). To parcel or not to parcel: Exploring the question, weighing the merits. Structural Equation Modeling, 9, 151-173.
31.
McCartney, K., Burchinal, M.R., & Bub, K.L. ( 2006). Best practices in quantitative methods for developmentalists . Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development , 71(Serial No. 285).
32.
Metalsky, G.I., Joiner, T.E., Hardin, T.S., & Abramson, L.Y. (1993). Depressive reactions to failure in a naturalistic setting: A test of the hopelessness and self-esteem theories of depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 101-109.
33.
Mulaik, S. ( 2007). There is a place for approximate fit in structural equation modelling. Personality and Individual Differences, 42, 883-891.
34.
Muthén, L.K., & Muthén, B. (1998). Mplus user’s guide . Los Angeles: Muthén & Muthén.
35.
Needles, D.J., & Abramson, L.Y. (1990). Positive life events, attributional style, and hopefulness: Testing a model of recovery from depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 99, 156-165.
36.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Girgus, J.S., & Seligman, M.E. (1992). Predictors and consequences of childhood depressive symptoms: A 5-year longitudinal study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101, 405-422.
37.
Peterson, C. ( 1991). The meaning and measurement of explanatory style. Psychological Inquiry, 2, 1-10.
38.
Peterson, C., Semmel, A., von Baeyer, C., Abramson, L.Y., Metalsky, G.I., & Seligman, M.E.P. (1982). The Attributional Style Questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 6, 287-299.
39.
Rigby, B.T., & Huebner, E.S. ( 2005). Do causal attributions mediate the relationship between personality characteristics and life satisfaction in adolescence? Psychology in the Schools, 42, 91-99.
40.
Rueger, S.Y., & Malecki, C.K. ( 2007). Group administration of the Children’s Attributional Style Interview. Journal of Child Clinical and Adolescent Psychology, 36, 1-7.
41.
Scheier, M.F., Carver, C.S., & Bridges, M.W. ( 1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism: A re-evaluation of the Life Orientation Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063-1078.
42.
Seligman, M.E.P., Reivich, K., Jaycox, L., & Gillham, J. ( 1995). The optimistic child. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
43.
Sweeney, P.D., Anderson, K.A., & Bailey, S. ( 1986). Attributional style in depression: A meta-analytic review . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 974-991.
44.
Vandenberg, R., & Lance, C.E. ( 2000). A review and synthesis of the measurement invariance literature: Suggestions, practices, and recommendations for organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 3, 4-69.
45.
Vernberg, E.M., & Dill, E.J. ( 2003). Research methods for developmental psychopathology. In M. C. Roberts & S. S Ilardi (Eds.), Handbook of research methods in clinical psychology (pp. 213-233). Malden, MA: Blackwell .
