Explanatory styles, psychological well-being and health

The first goal of the present paper was to carry out a qualitative review of studies regarding negative explanatory style, in other words, the relatively stable tendency of attributing negative outcomes to internal, stable, and global causes. Most investigations have studied its relationship with depression and have come to the conclusion that this style, together with other dysfunctional attitudes, plays a relevant role in the development of depressive symptomatology. Some studies that have analyzed certain attributional styles for positive events seem to suggest they can serve as a protective factor (if positive situations are explained in terms of internal, stable and global causes or enhancing explanatory style) or a vulnerability factor (if they are attributed to external, unstable, and specific causes). Other studies, albeit less numerous, have associated negative explanatory style with negative emotions (anxiety, hostility, negative emotionality) and poor health, and it is suggested that this style can constitute a general vulnerability factor or maladaptive cognitive style with negative consequences in the psychological and physical domain. Finally, there is a need to carry out longitudinal studies that take into consideration certain factors like specific attributions, self-esteem, controllability perception or degree of importance of situations, which have not received enough attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)