Evaluating reactions to stress following a naturalistic stressor

Abstract

This study examined problem-solving and causal attributional styles as possible diatheses for depression, hopelessness and suicidal ideation, given the onset of a stressor. In order to evaluate the predictive validity of these models, subjects were evaluated prospectively, before the occurrance of a naturalistic stressor, namely a midterm examination. Subjects were administered a modified version of the Means-Ends Problem Solving Scale (Platt & Spivack, 1975) to evaluate their problem-solving ability on a hypothetical task, the Problem Solving Inventory (Heppner, 1986) to evaluate perceived problem-solving ability, and the Attributional Style Questionnaire (Peterson, et al., 1982) to evaluate their causal attributional styles. The Life Experience Survey (Sarason, et al., 1978) was administered to evaluate other stressors in the subjects lives. Hypotheses included: 1) actual problem-solving deficits, 2) perceived problem solving deficits, and 3) an internal, stable and global causal attributional style will interact with both measures of stress to predict depression, hopelessness and suicidal ideation. Results supported each of the hypotheses, though the diatheses differed in their predictive ability depending upon the measure of stress used or the criteria examined.