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Effects of Attribution Retraining During Therapeutic Recreation on Attributions and Explanatory Styles of Adolescents with Depression

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Effects of Attribution Retraining During Therapeutic Recreation on Attributions and Explanatory Styles of Adolescents with Depression THERAPEUTIC RECREATION JOURNAL Vol. 36, No. 1, 35-47, 2002 Effects of Attribution Retraining During Therapeutic Recreation on Attributions and Explanatory Styles of Adolescents with Depression Rodney B. Dieser and Edward Ruddell The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of attribution retraining on attributions and explanatory style during therapeutic recreation activity. Research participants were sixteen adolescents who were in-patients at a residential treatment facility and from a psychiatric hospital. Results from this study indicated that after attribution retraining (a) the experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group on personal control and stability attributions; (b) the experimental group did not score significantly higher than the control group on locus of causality attributions and explanatory styles; (c) the experimental group did not score significantly lower than the control group on external control attributions. Implications for practice and directions for future research are addressed. KEY WORDS: Attribution Retraining, Attribution Style Questionnaire, Attribution Retraining, Causal Dimension Scale II, Verbal Persuasion. Many studies support the existence of a pessimistic explanatory styles, and depression relationship among unhealthy attributions, (Buchanan, 1995; Oettingen, 1995; Peterson & Rodney B. Dieser—Assistant professor in the School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services, University of Northern Iowa. Edward Ruddell—Associate professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, University of Utah. We wish to express our thanks to Dr. Gary Ellis, Dr. Cathy Morris, and Dr. Mark Widmer for their comments and suggestions. First Quarter 2002 35 Seligman, 1984; Sweeney, Anderson, & the study by Ellis et al. (1993) demonstrated Bailey, 1986). For example, in a longitudinal that attribution based verbal persuasion during study that consisted of 508 third grade chil- therapeutic recreation experiences can have a dren, Nolen-Hoeksema, Girgus, and Seligman positive significant effect on self-efficacy (1992) measured explanatory styles and de- judgments, outcome judgments, generality of pression every six months. They found that efficacy judgments, and task persistence. They later in childhood pessimistic explanatory concluded that "attribution based verbal per- styles were significant predictors of depres- suasion can be a potent force in impacting on sion. Likewise, Raps, Peterson, Reinhard, clients' efficacy judgments" (p. 94). Abramson, and Seligman (1982) examined 30 Integrating attribution retraining with ther- clients with unipolar depression, 15 clients apeutic recreation interventions has important with nondepressed schizophrenia, and 61 cli- implications for improving mental health (see ents with nondepressed medical and surgical Dieser & Voight, 1998; Ellis et al., 1993; conditions and found that clients with depres- Iso-Ahola, 1980; Voight, 1983). Therapeutic sion explained negative life events with more recreation interventions provide a modality to pessimistic attributions than clients in the change pessimistic attributions because recre- other groups. ation can be designed to present an optimal Scholars in psychology have posited that and challenging activity while providing a attribution retraining, or attribution therapy, high probability of success (Widmer, 1996). can improve the health of individuals with Combining successful recreation experiences depression (Beck & Weishaar, 1995; DeRu- with healthy attributions can lead clients to beis & Holland, 1995; Forsterling, 1988; greater perceived control (Iso-Ahola, 1980). Peterson, 1982; Seligman, Reivich, Jaycox, & Also, therapeutic recreation settings, as op- Gillham, 1995). Attribution retraining inter- posed to clinical settings, may be perceived as ventions have consisted of therapists targeting less threatening to clients. Consequently, cli- automatic thoughts rooted in unhealthy attri- ents may be less defensive and resistant to butions and challenging these pessimistic at- having their pessimistic attributions chal- tributions via offering alternative explanations lenged. premised upon healthy attributions (see For- Due to scant empirical evidence regarding sterling, 1988; Seligman et al., 1995). In the the integration of attribution retraining with past, attribution retraining usually lasted 8-12 therapeutic recreation intervention, it is un- weeks and occurred in clinical (DeRubeis & known whether attribution retraining can be Holland, 1995), group counseling (Green-Em- utilized successfully in therapeutic recreation rich & Altmaier, 1991), psycho-educational practice. The purpose of the study presented in (Seligman et al., 1995), and therapeutic recre- this paper was to build on the research of Ellis ation (Ellis, Maughan-Pritchett, & Ruddell, et al. (1993) by examining the effects of verbal 1993) settings. persuasion based attribution retraining during Although many therapeutic recreation therapeutic recreation on attributions and ex- scholars and practitioners have advocated to planatory styles of adolescents with a clinical integrate attribution retraining with therapeutic diagnosis of major depression. recreation practice to ameliorate the well being of individuals with psychological disorders Literature Review (Dieser & Voight, 1998; Dixon, 1979; Ellis et al., 1993; Iso-Ahola, 1980; Maughan & Ellis, Attribution Theory and 1991; Voight, 1983; Widmer, 1996), little em- Depression pirical evidence exists to validate using attri- Attribution theory describes the systematic bution retraining as a theoretical intervention patterns people use when ascribing cause to a in therapeutic recreation practice. However, human event (Peterson & Seligman, 1984; 36 Therapeutic Recreation Journal Weiner, 1985). Inquiry into the manner in 1989; Morris & Ellis, 1993), attribution based which people assign cause to human events verbal persuasion (Ellis et al., 1993), and lei- began in the 1940s. In an early study, during sure education intervention (Dieser & Voight, which Heider (1958) presented pictures of 1998). Investigation of cross-cultural attribu- meaningless drawings to individuals, he found tions became prevalent in the latter 1990s (see that people regularly and predictably assigned Choi, Nisbett, & Norenzayan, 1999; Matsu- patterns of causality where such causality did moto, 1996; Menon, Morris, Chiu, & Hong, not exist. 1999; Oettingen, 1995). In the early 1970s, Kelley's (1971) work continued the exploration and advancement of Causal Dimensions attribution theory. The underlying premise of Central to research regarding attribution the- his inquiry was that causal thoughts play a ory during the 1980s and 1990s was a movement central role in determining individuals' feel- aimed toward clustering causal explanations into ings and behaviors. Furthermore, Kelley con- sets of dimensions. Causal dimensions are cluded that individuals seek a causal explana- groupings of causal attributions—four frequently tion for events that occur in physical and social studied causal dimensions are locus of control, environments because explanations function in locus of causality, stability, and globality (Kent ways that help individuals attain personal & Martinko, 1995). goals. In this regard, Kelley (1971) posited Locus of control. Locus of control refers to that "the attributor is not simply an attributor, internal and external attributions. Internal a seeker after knowledge; his latent goal in causes refer to factors within the person and attaining knowledge is that of effective man- external causes relate to the situation or cir- agement of himself and his environment" (p. cumstance (Abramson et al., 1978). For exam- 220). ple, a university student attributing an excel- In the latter half of the 1970s, using attri- lent mark on a test to his/her effort in studying bution theory as a theoretical base, Seligman would exemplify an internal attribution be- (1975) developed a model to explain learned cause the success is attributed to something helplessness which three years later was about the individual (his/her studying). The changed into a reformulated model (see opposite of this, an external attribution, would Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978). be demonstrated by a student attributing his/ Learned helplessness, a psychological phe- her mark to an easy exam. nomenon in which experiences with uncon- Locus of causality. Locus of causality is a trollable events create passive behaviors to- causal dimension closely related to locus of ward maintaining well-being, emphasizes that control. Locus of causality refers to whether people learn to become helpless in controlling the cause resides within or outside the attribu- their lives because of their pessimistic attribu- tor (McAuley, Duncan, & Russell, 1992). A tions (Abramson et al., 1978; Seligman, 1990). chief difference between locus of control and According to Gilbert (1992), learned helpless- locus of causality is the way in which the ness theory has become one of the most im- external causal attribution is defined. Within portant theories used to explain depression. the causal dimension of locus of causality, Attribution-based models of intervention external refers to causes that reside outside of began to be introduced across psychology in the attributor. Within the casual dimension of the 1980s and 1990s (see DeRubeis & Hol- locus of control, external refers to something land, 1995; Forsterling, 1988; Seligman et al., about the situation
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