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Positive attributional style, life events and their effect on children’s
mood: Prospective study
LOUISE VINES & REGINALD D. V. NIXON
School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Abstract
The present study extended previous research into the role of cognitive style in predicting depressive symptoms in children
by examining positive attributional style for positive events in a prospective manner, with a focus on the influence of prior life
experience. A non-clinical sample of 102 children (aged 10–12 years) was recruited. Participants completed self-report
measures of depression, attributional style, stressful life events, and positive life events on two occasions (approximately
6 months apart). Positive attributional style for positive events moderated the relationship between negative life events and
follow-up depressive symptoms. Number of positive events did not significantly moderate the negative life events–depression
symptoms relationship although there was a trend in the expected direction. Positive attributional style for positive events
appeared to act as both a mediator and moderator in the positive events–depression symptoms relationship. Theoretical and
clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Keywords: Attributional style, childhood, children, cognitive processes, developmental processes, emotion, emotional disorders,
life events, mood
It is estimated that 1–2% of children under the age of
12 years experience a clinical level of depression
(Horowitz & Garber, 2006). Cognitive diathesis–
stress theories propose a number of developmental
pathways to the disorder, but these pathways are
generally based on research using adult populations.
Given that depression may present differently in
children (Campbell, 1986), it is important to
consider the complex interplay between biopsycho-
social factors that may contribute to the development
of depression in a child population. The present
study examined relationships between positive attri-
butional style, life events and depressive symptoms in
children in a prospective fashion.
In terms of wellbeing, developmental psycho-
pathology purports that a continuum exists with
normal mood at one end and pathological manifesta-
tions of emotion at the other end (Muris, 2007).
Muris (2007) argues that children move along the
continuum based on a multi-factorial model in which
various vulnerability and protective factors interact
overtime. As a result, when they experience stressful
life events their levels of depression are determined
by their current constellation of vulnerability and
protective factors.
Vulnerability factors for depression in children
include both negative life experiences and cognitive
factors, such as attributional style, that is, the causal
inferences that an individual makes following life
events (Conley, Haines, Hilt, & Metalsky, 2001).
According to cognitive diathesis–stress theory, those
at risk of depression have a consistent style in which
they make internal, stable, global attributions for
negative events and external, unstable, specific
attributions for positive events. As intimated above,
however, neither negative life events nor attributional
style alone is wholly predictive of mood change
(Abramson, Metalsky, & Alloy, 1989). Rather, it is
the interaction of cognitive styles (i.e., diathesis) and
negative life events (i.e., stress) that predict future
affective states (Needles & Abramson, 1990). Thus,
the same stressful life event may happen to two
Correspondence: Dr R. D. V. Nixon, School of Psychology, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
E-mail: reg.nixon@flinders.edu.au
Australian Journal of Psychology, Vol. 61, No. 4, December 2009, pp. 211–219.
ISSN 0004-9530 print/ISSN 1742-9536 online ªThe Australian Psychological Society Ltd
Published by Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/00049530802579507
Downloaded By: [Flinders University of South Australia] At: 05:38 24 November 2009
different children but depending on their cognitive
vulnerability one may be more susceptible to
becoming depressed following aversive events and
one may be more resilient.
Resilience is the phenomenon whereby individuals
show positive adaptation despite significant life
adversities (Schoon, 2006). Research on resilience
in children has focused on a variety of variables that
appear to moderate the impact of stress and transient
symptoms on wellbeing (Muris, 2007; Tram & Cole,
2000). Protective factors can be truly protective (i.e.,
reduce a child’s exposure to risk) or they can be
compensatory (Rutter, 1985); they can be intrinsic to
the child (i.e., attributional style) or part of the
environment (Coie et al., 1993). Research suggests
that the presence of more protective factors regard-
less of the number of vulnerability factors may lower
the level of risk of psychological dysfunction (Resnick
et al., 1997).
To date, there is a paucity of research on the role
of positive experience as an independent factor in
wellbeing (MacLeod & Moore, 2000). Positive
experience is defined as those activities that are small
in magnitude and frequent in occurrence, for
example, eating good meals, taking a walk, having
someone agree with you (Needles & Abramson,
1990). A handful of studies in adults (Johnson, Han,
Douglas, Johannet, & Russell, 1998; Needles &
Abramson, 1990; Phillips, 1968) and even fewer with
young people indicate that positive experiences may
be a protective factor in reducing the effect of
stressful experiences. Of note, Shahar and Priel
(2002) observed that positive life events, particularly
positive interpersonal events, had a direct protective
effect on the development of depression and
appeared to shield against the impact of negative life
events in a non-clinical sample of 14–16-year-olds.
Further, limited attention has been given to the
role of positive attributional style for positive events
as a protective factor in mental health. Macleod and
Moore (2000) argue that this may be because a uni-
dimensional view of positive and negative cognitive
style is promoted, one that is inverse in nature. They
claim this perspective is misleading and argue that
positive and negative cognitive styles are more
usefully thought of as reflecting the operation of
two separate systems. Needles and Abramson (1990)
also support this view point. Using an adult popula-
tion, they found that attributional styles for positive
and negative events show little correlation even
among individuals who have a depressogenic attribu-
tional style for negative events and, as a result, that
there may be a good deal of variance in attributional
style for positive events. Curry and Craighead (1990)
observed similar findings with adolescent inpatients
diagnosed with depression. They reported that
individuals who presented with more severe
depression had significantly lower positive attribu-
tional style for positive events. Conley, Haines, Hilt,
and Metalsky (2001) made similar observations with
a non-clinical child population; they observed that
children with a more negative attributional style for
positive events had greater increases in depressed
symptoms across time than did children with a more
positive attributional style for positive events. They
concluded that the combination of negative attribu-
tional style (for positive events) and negative life
stress predicted increases in depressive symptoms.
These findings are consistent with a multi-factorial
model and suggest that the interaction of positive life
events and ‘‘an enhancing’’ cognitive style (Needles
& Abramson, 1990), may be protective, fostering
resilience in the face of adversity and moderating the
impact of stress and transient symptoms on
wellbeing.
That said, intuitively it makes sense that the
experience of positive events in childhood might
actually lead to the development of a positive
attributional template for positive events, which
may in turn mediate the relationship between
positive events and follow-up depressive symptoms.
Indeed it is recognised that moderational and
mediational models are not necessarily mutually
exclusive but rather that they can amalgamate to
produce more complex models of functioning
(Baron & Kenny, 1986). Inconsistent findings in
prospective research of the diathesis–stress interac-
tion in children (e.g., Dixon & Ahrens, 1992;
Hilsman & Garber, 1995; Nolan-Hoeksema, Girgus,
& Seligman, 1986; Turner & Cole, 1994) may be
explained by this. Turner and Cole (1994) argued
that a mediational rather than a moderational model
might better explain the stress–depression relation-
ship in middle childhood, with attributional style
becoming a more powerful cognitive moderator of
the stress–depression relationship with later devel-
opment. Of note, there is no empirical investigation
to date of the competing hypothesis (moderator vs.
mediator) for relations between positive events and
positive attributional style for positive events and
depressive symptoms in children.
In summary, research supports the association
between cognitive styles, life events and depression
in children (Conley et al., 2001; Hilsman & Garber,
1995). Evidence is less clear, however, with regard to
the protective role that cognitive factors, such as
positive atributional style, and life events play in the
development of depressive symptoms in children.
Transactions between these factors may be dynamic
and reciprocal, and change over time and develop-
mental course (Muris, 2007; Shortt & Spence,
2006). In essence, few studies have investigated the
interaction between positive attributional style for
positive events and life events in prospectively
212 L. Vines & R. D. V. Nixon
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predicting depressive symptoms in children. Nor
have studies considered the interaction between
positive events and negative life events in prospec-
tively predicting follow-up depressive symptoms in
children. Empirical investigation of cognitive re-
sponse to positive experience in the wellbeing of
children is important to clarify issues related to
causal and temporal relationships between these
variables and to more accurately identify the trend
of their effects across time.
The present study was designed to prospectively
examine the relationships between positive attribu-
tional style for positive events, life events and
depression in children. A non-clinical sample of
children was recruited. Participants completed a
battery of self-report measures of depression, attri-
butional style, stressful life events, and positive life
events on two occasions (approximately 6 months
apart).
Drawing on the available literature, it was pre-
dicted that positive attributional style would moder-
ate the relationship between number of negative life
events and depression severity. Specifically, it was
expected that the relationship between negative
events and depression would be weaker in children
with higher levels of positive attributional style versus
children with lower levels. Further, it was predicted
that number of positive life events would moderate
the relationship between number of negative life
events and depression severity. Specifically, it was
expected that more positive life events would buffer
(i.e., minimise) the degree to which children
experienced depression symptoms following negative
life events. Finally, based on the premise that
moderational and mediational models may join to
form more complicated models of functioning
(Baron & Kenny, 1986), the potentially moderating
and mediating role of positive attributional style was
explored. In terms of moderation, whether positive
attributional style would moderate the relationship
between number of positive life events and depres-
sion severity was tested; that is, that children high in
positive attributional style would experience less
depression in the context of fewer positive events
relative to children low in positive attributional style.
Similarly mediation was also tested. Specifically it
was tested whether the relationship between positive
life events and depression might also be mediated by
attributional style for positive events in children.
Method
Participants
Participants were 102 children (aged 10–12 years)
recruited from 10 public and one private primary
school in South Australia. The specified age group
was targeted on the basis that cognitive risk factors
change markedly from childhood to adolescence
(Conley et al., 2001) and to reduce cognitive
variability. Of the families that completed a demo-
graphic information questionnaire (N¼58), 79%
indicated that the children lived in a two-parent
household; 48% of the families had gross earning
4AUD $70,000 p.a. and 16% had gross earnings
under AUD$30,000 p.a., with 5% of families earning
under AUD$10,000 p.a.
Procedure
Participants were recruited using the following
procedure. In the first instance, 15 primary school
principals were approached regarding the study. An
information pack was then sent to approximately
1700 families at the 11 schools that chose to
participate in the research. The information pack
contained a participant information sheet, parent/
guardian consent and child assent forms and a cover
letter provided by each school. In line with ethics
approval, the participant information sheet warned
parents that questionnaires would be used to probe
children’s experience of high-impact trauma and
suicidality; this likely led to the extremely modest
response rate of 6%. Parents/guardians who allowed
their children in the study were requested to
complete the necessary consent forms and return
them to the researcher in the reply-paid envelope as
provided. A battery of self-report questionnaires was
administered to participants at Time 1 and Time
2 during regular lessons, prior to recess time, at
school.
Measures
Depression. The Child Depression Inventory–Short
Form (CDI-S: Kovacs, 1992) is an established 10-
item forced-choice scale designed to assess depres-
sion reactions in children and has comparable
psychometric properties with the full-form version
(Kovacs, 1992). It was administered at Time 1 to
control for initial levels of depression. Cronbach’s
alphas were .84 at T1 and .86 at T2 in the present
sample.
Attributional Style. The Children’s Attributional
Style Questionnaire, Revised (CASQ-R: Thompson,
Kaslow, Weiss, & Nolan-Hoeksema, 1998) is a
commonly used 24-item, forced-choice question-
naire, developed to assess children’s causal explana-
tions for positive and negative events. Participants
were instructed to imagine themselves in a series of
events, for example ‘‘You get a bad grade at school’’,
and to decide what caused the event to happen by
ticking one of two boxes related to the event, for
Children’s positive attributional style and mood 213
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example, ‘‘I am not a good student’’ or ‘‘Teachers
give hard tests’’. Half of the items in the ques-
tionnaire addressed positive outcomes and half
addressed negative outcomes. Higher scores re-
flected a more positive response, while lower scores
were associated with elevated depression. Cron-
bach’s alpha for the CASQ-R (administered at T2)
was .70 in the present sample, consistent with
previous reports of moderate internal consistency
reliability (Thompson et al., 1998).
Negative life events. The Cambridge Life Develop-
ment Measure (Goodyer, Herbert, Tamplin, Secher,
& Pearson, 1997) is a 13-item self-report instrument
developed to measure stressful life events (e.g.,
moving school, losing a family pet). Participants
were instructed to answer ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no’’ to indicate
whether or not each event had occurred within the
past 6 months at Time 2. A total scored was
calculated for each phase based on the number of
events endorsed.
Positive events. The Positive Life Events Checklist is
a 36-item self-report measure developed by the
author for the present study to measure positive life
events such as receiving an award, going to the
movies, being praised by a parent (available on
request). Participants were instructed to rate how
often positive events had happened to them within
the past 6 months at Time 2. Each item was
answered on a 3-point scale ranging from 0 (not at
all)to2(lots of the time). A total score was calculated
for each phase based on a summation of these
responses.
Results
Data screening
Data were screened and cleaned as recommended by
Tabachnick and Fidell (1996). Normality testing
indicated that some measures were positively
skewed, however, results remained the same for both
transformed and untransformed data, thus untrans-
formed data are reported.
Participant characteristics
A total of 102 children completed the questionnaires
at either T1 or T2: 93 children (51 boys, 42 girls) at
T1, and 89 children (49 boys, 40 girls) at T2. No
significance difference in child depression levels was
found based on parental income (low, medium,
high) at T1, F(2,47) ¼0.82, p¼.44. The psycho-
metric data for the variables of interest for T1 and T2
are detailed in Table I. As expected in a non-clinical
group, levels of depressive symptoms were low. Two
children scored above the clinical cut-off (413) on
the CDI-S at T1, and one child at T2.
Preliminary analyses
Preliminary analyses were conducted to determine if
any of the measures of life events, attributional style
or symptoms of depression varied as a function of age
or gender. The only observed significant correlation
was between gender and negative attributional style
at T2, r(88) ¼.29, p¼.03. Testing indicated that
girls made more adaptive judgements about negative
events than boys (girls: M¼21.99, SD ¼2.17; boys:
M¼20.99, SD ¼2.17), t(86) ¼2.17, p¼.03. Con-
trolling for gender, however, did not impact on any
findings relating to this variable, and it was not
included as a correlate in any analysis.
Zero-order correlations between each of the T2
predictor variables, number of negative life events,
number of positive life events and level of positive
attributional style for positive events, and the
dependent measure, depression, are reported in
Table II. Of note, a moderate correlation was
Table I. Psychometric data
Time 1 Time 2
Measure M SD Min Max M SD Min Max
CDI-S 2.76 3.20 0 15 1.82 2.56 0 13
No. negative
life events
3.49 2.12 0 10
CASQ-Pos 19.78 2.28 14 24
No. positive
events
43.10 13.66 2 70
Notes: CASQ-Pos ¼Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire,
Revised–Positive Composite; CDI-S ¼Child Depression Inven-
tory–Short Form; no. negative life events ¼Cambridge Life
Development Measure; no. positive events ¼Positive Events
Checklist.
Table II. Zero-order correlations among variables of interest
12 3 4 5 6
1. CDI-S T1 – .58** .31** 7.44** 7.35** 7.40**
2. CDI-S T2 – .46** 7.54** 7.60** 7.48**
3. Negative life
events T2
–7.15 7.37** 7.05
4. CASQ-Pos T2 – .41** .49**
5. CASQ-Neg T2 – .29**
6. Positive
events T2
–
Notes: CASQ-Neg¼Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire,
Revised–Negative Composite; CASQ-Po s ¼Children’s Attribu-
tional Style Questionnaire, Revised–Positive Composite; CDI-S ¼
Child Depression Inventory–Short Form; negative life events ¼
Cambridge Life Development Measure; positive events ¼Positive
Events Checklist.
**p5.01 (two-tailed).
214 L. Vines & R. D. V. Nixon
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evidenced between attributional styles for positive
and negative events r(87) ¼.41, p5.01, contrary to
findings in an adult population (Needles &
Abramson, 1990).
Main analyses
Hierarchical multiple regression analysis (MRA) was
used to test moderating hypotheses, with relevant
variables centered as per Aiken and West (1993).
Where moderational relationships are graphed
(Figures 1–3), 1 SD above and below mean values
was used to plot interactions. Mediation was tested
following the recommendations of Baron and Kenny
(1986). Depression at T1 was controlled at Step 1 for
all relevant analyses.
Does positive attributional style for positive events
moderate the relationship between number of negative
life events over the past 6 months and depression at
T2? As expected, initial depressive symptoms were
a significant predictor of T2 depressive symptoms,
accounting for 39% of the variance explained
(Table III). Both number of negative life events
and level of positive attributional style for positive
events were significant predictors of T2 depressive
symptoms, accounting for an additional 19% of the
residual change in depressive symptoms. Most
importantly, as predicted, level of positive attribu-
tional style moderated the relationship between
number of negative life events and follow-up
depressive symptoms, explaining approximately 5%
of unique variance. In other words, children high in
positive attributional style for positive events ap-
peared to experience less depression in response to
negative life events than children low in positive
attributional style for positive events (Figure 1).
Does number of positive life events over the past 6 months
moderate the relationship between number of negative life
events and depression at T2? Similar to the above
findings, both number of negative life events and
number of positive events were significant predictors
of T2 depressive symptoms, explaining an additional
16% of the residual change in depressive symptoms.
In contrast to predictions, number of positive life
events did not appear to moderate the relationship
between number of negative life events and follow-up
depressive symptoms, accounting only for an addi-
tional 2% of unique variance (Table IV). Although
the interaction effect did not reach significance, it
indicated a positive trend in the predicted direction
(p5.06; Figure 2).
Table III. Prediction of depressive symptoms in children at T2:
no. negative life events and level of positive attributional style for
positive events
Predictor R
2
R
2
change B SE Btp
Step 1 .39 .39
CDI-S T1 .23 .07 3.40 .001
Step 2 .58 .19
Negative life
events
a
.29 .08 3.40 .001
CASQ-Pos
a
7.35 .08 74.20 .000
Step 3 .63 .05
Negative life
events
a
6
7.08 .03 73.20
CASQ-Pos
a
.002
Notes: CASQ-Pos. ¼Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire,
Revised–Positive Composite; CDI-S T1 ¼Child Depression
Inventory–Short Form at Time 1; negative life events ¼Cam-
bridge Life Development Measure.
a
Variable centered.
Figure 1. Predicted depressive symptoms as a function of life
events and level of attributional style for positive events. (– –) Low
positive attributional style; (––) high positive attributional style.
Table IV. Prediction of depressive symptoms in children at T2:
no. negative and positive life events
Predictor R
2
R
2
change B SE Btp
Step 1 .39 .39
CDI-S T1 .27 .07 3.60 .001
Step 2 .55 .16
Positive events
a
7.05 .01 73.62 .001
Negative life
events
a
.31 .09 3.47 .001
Step 3 .57 .02
Positive events
a
6
75.01 5.01 71.88 .064
Negative life
events
a
Notes: CDI-S T1 ¼Child Depression Inventory–Short Form at
Time 1; negativ e life events ¼Cambridge Life Development
Measure; positive events ¼Positive Events Checklist.
a
Variable centered.
Children’s positive attributional style and mood 215
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Does level of positive attributional style for positive events
moderate the relationship between number of positive life
events over the past 6 months and depression at T2? As
predicted, positive attributional style for positive
events moderated the relationship between number
of positive life events and depressive symptoms at
T2, explaining approximately 5% of unique variance
(Table V). In other words, children high in positive
attributional style for positive events in this period
tended to experience fewer depressive symptoms in
the context of fewer positive events than children low
in positive attributional style for positive events
(Figure 3). As detailed below, however, attributional
style also appeared to act as a mediator in this
relationship.
Does level of positive attributional style for positive events
mediate the relationship between number of positive life
events over the past 6 months and depression at T2? A
mediation analysis was conducted following the
Baron and Kenny (1986) guidelines, with the
significance of any reduced effect reported as a z
score. The significance of the indirect effect was
tested using the Arioan version of the Sobel test
(Baron & Kenny, 1986) and the associated beta
values are reported in Table VI. T1 depression was
controlled at Step 1. As predicted, the first three
conditions of mediation were met and the strength of
the indirect effect was significant, indicating full
mediation. The proportion of variance explained by
number of positive life events was no longer
significant after controlling for level of positive
attributional style for positive events, reducing from
7%, F(2,76) ¼33.48, p5.001, to 2% F(1,73) ¼
3.47, p¼.07.
Discussion
This study investigated the relationship between
positive attributional style, life events and follow-up
depression in children. The hypothesis that positive
attributional style would moderate the relationship
between number of negative life events and depres-
sion severity was supported. As predicted, having a
more positive attributional style for positive events
minimised the degree to which children experienced
depression symptoms following negative life events.
The hypothesis that number of positive life events
would moderate the relationship between number of
negative life events and depression severity, although
not supported, indicated a positive trend in the
Figure 2. Predicted depressive symptoms in children as a
function of frequency of negative events and frequency of positive
events. (– –) Low no. positive events; (––) high no. positive events.
Table V. Prediction of depressive symptoms in children at T2:
no. positive life events and level of attributional style for positive
life events
Predictor R
2
R
2
change B SE Btp
Step 1 .39 .39
CDI-S T1 .22 .08 2.80 5.01
Step 2 .52 .13
Positive
Events
a
7.03 .02 71.62 .109
CASQ-Pos
a
7.30 .10 72.99 5.01
Step 3 .57 .05
Positive
Events
a
6
.02 5.01 2.94 5.01
CASQ-Pos
a
Notes: CASQ-Pos. ¼Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire,
Revised–Positive Composite; CDI-S T1 ¼Child Depression
Inventory–Short Form at Time 1; positive events ¼Positive Events
Checklist
a
Variable centered.
Figure 3. Predicted depressive symptoms as a function of
frequency of positive events and level of positive attributional
style for positive events. (– –) Low positive attributional style; (––)
high positive attributional style.
216 L. Vines & R. D. V. Nixon
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predicted direction. Children who experienced more
positive events tended to experience less depression
in response to increased negative events relative to
children who experienced fewer positive events.
Due to the lack of previous research on the
relationship between positive attributional style for
positive events, life events and depression in chil-
dren, it is difficult to directly compare present
findings to previous research. That said, the observa-
tion that self-reported positive attributional style for
positive events may buffer the experience of depres-
sion following adverse events in children is consistent
with a previous child study (Conley et al., 2001). Of
note, the present study improved on that of Conley
et al. (2001) by increasing the follow-up period from
3 weeks to approximately 6 months. Of further note,
the current finding of moderate correlations between
attributional styles for positive and negative events is
in contrast to adult research (e.g., Needles &
Abramson, 1990), which has showed little correla-
tion among these variables. It may well be that the
operation of two separate attributional systems
(Macleod & Moore, 2000) develops or becomes
more noticeable with age; or that the experience of
negative life events over time can change attribu-
tional style. This is highly speculative, however, and
requires further investigation. The observed trend
that number of positive events experienced by
children may become an increasingly important
protective factor with greater exposure to negative
events is consistent with both adolescent (Shahar &
Priel, 2002) and adult studies (Needles & Abramson,
1990) that found that positive events had a direct
protective effect on level of depression following
adverse experience.
These finding are in line with a multi-factorial
model for the development of psychopathology in
children (Muris, 2007), and suggest that positive
attributional style for positive events and perhaps
positive events themselves may be protective factors
that could reduce children’s vulnerability to depres-
sive symptoms regardless of the number of negative
life events they experience. The present study further
demonstrated that positive attributional style mod-
erates the relationship between number of positive
life events and depression severity; as predicted,
children high in positive attributional style experi-
enced less depression in the context of fewer positive
events relative to children low in positive attribu-
tional style. Of note, the study also demonstrated
that positive attributional style appeared to mediate
the relationship between positive life events and
depressive symptoms in the present age group;
children who experienced more positive events
experienced less depression, but positive events
explained less variance in depressive symptoms after
controlling for positive attributional style.
The observation that positive attributional style
can act as both a mediator and moderator may
explain inconsistent results in research of the
diathesis–stress interaction across childhood (Turner
& Cole, 1994). Although speculative, it may well be
that early experience of positive events contributes to
the development of a positive attributional style for
positive events, and this construct simultaneously
starts to moderate the relationship between positive
events and depression in children. It may even be
that over time, the construct becomes a more robust
moderator of the relationship between positive events
and depression.
This preliminary support for a combined model
has implications for future research. If the develop-
ment of children’s positive attributional style is
related to the positive events they experience, it
would seem important to examine the nature of this
relationship further. For instance, are some positive
events more important than others? Does frequency
of occurrence of positive experience make any
difference to outcome? Further, if positive attribu-
tional style is an unstable construct in middle
childhood (Cole & Turner, 1993), when does it start
to stabilise? What happens to the proposed media-
tional–moderational model with age?
Several limitations are acknowledged in the pre-
sent study. First, participants were primary school
students who experienced considerably milder de-
pressive symptoms than may be the case in a clinical
population. As such it would be important to
replicate these findings in a more clinically relevant
population. Second, given the low response rate of
6%, the sample was small in size and unlikely to be
representative. Anecdotally, it is worth noting that
Table VI. Positive attributional style mediates relationship between no. positive events and later depressive symptoms: Test
Variable mediation chain IV !MV MV !DV IV !DV IV !DV(MV) zscore
(IV) Positive Events T2 !(MV) CASQ-Pos.
T2 !(DV) CDI-S T2
.07*** 7.30** 7.05** .07 72.29*
Notes: CASQ-Pos. ¼Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire, Revised–Positive Composite; CDI-S ¼Child Depression Inventory–
Short Form at Time 2; DV ¼dependent variable; IV ¼independent variable; IV !DV (MV) ¼relationship between IV and DV after
controlling for the effect of MV; MV ¼mediator variable; positive events ¼Positive Events Checklist.
*p5.05; **p5.01; ***p5.001 (two-tailed).
Children’s positive attributional style and mood 217
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several parents contacted the researcher during the
recruitment phase of the study to report that
although they approved of the study, they were not
comfortable with their children being asked ques-
tions related to trauma and suicidality. Further, staff
at three schools reported concerns about parents
being approached, given the nature of the test
battery, and as a result denied recruitment access
to their school. The low response rate dictated that
the study was very preliminary in nature. That said,
findings justify further examination of issues raised in
a larger sample. Strategies for addressing the low
uptake rate in future research of these issues might
include providing parents with more detailed in-
formation about the nature of the questions being
asked (e.g., highlighting that they are not harmful,
perhaps via information sessions at parents’ evening).
Alternatively, research instruments might be ac-
cessed online, once ethics considerations have been
taken into account, to further promote anonymity.
Third, despite its prospective design, the present
study restricted its cohort to children between the
ages of 10 and 12 years. Although this strategy
reduced variability in cognitive vulnerability, it
precluded the examination of developmental effects.
As suggested above, developmental effects are
important considerations given inconsistent research
findings regarding mediational and moderational
models of attributional functioning across childhood
(Dixon & Ahrens, 1992; Hilsman & Garber, 1995;
Turner & Cole, 1994). Fourth, the present study was
correlational in nature, indicating that results do not
represent a complete test of causality. Future
research is likely to be fruitful if it is more long-
itudinal in nature, beginning with much younger
children. This will enable the relationship of critical
variables to be examined more fully in a prospective
manner. Further, a larger sample size would provide
a more representative sample and allow more
complex statistical analyses, for example, structural
equation modelling (SEM) to better understand
mediational, moderational and bi-directional rela-
tionships. Fifth, a self-report measure of depression
cannot replace clinical interview and diagnosis.
Future investigation could incorporate clinical inter-
view and thus the possibility of testing more clinically
relevant populations alongside asymptomatic child
populations. This would be useful, given findings
with adolescent inpatients (Curry & Craighead,
1990) that report significantly lower positive attribu-
tional style for positive events in more severely
depressed subjects; and given studies with adults
populations (e.g., Southall & Roberts, 2002) that
suggest that the interaction of the present predictor
variables may enhance recovery from depression.
That is, that depressed adults who have a more
adaptive style for positive events may experience
greater improvement in symptoms following positive
events than those with a less adaptive attributional
style. Sixth, demographic information suggested that
the majority of participants resided in two-parent,
relatively high-income families. Thus, it is conceded
that the present sample was likely a stable group,
from reasonably affluent, intact families, and experi-
encing minimal symptoms. Given these potential
floor effects, it would seem pertinent that the present
study evidenced significant results, and that the
proportion of variance explained, although small,
constituted reasonably sized effects for interaction
analyses.
In terms of life events, it is conceded that recall
and memory biases may exist in self-report; children
who are more depressed may have a bias for recalling
negative events that more positive children do not
have or forget about. Equally, children who are more
depressed may recall less positive events than positive
children. Further, it is noted that the present study
measured only occurrence of life events without
reference to the degree of pleasure or distress that
events caused. With this in mind, the present study
attempted to reduce the effect of children’s mood on
their rating of life events by controlling for prior
depressive symptoms, but it is acknowledged that
future investigations could be extended to encom-
pass interview-based assessments of life events
(Southall & Roberts, 2002) and perhaps confirma-
tion of children’s experience from parents. Finally,
attention is drawn to the fact that the present study
focused on the occurrence of negative events such as
moving house or school, spending time in hospital or
having difficulties with friendships, without reference
to traumatic events such as assault or motor vehicle
accident. That said, hassles experienced by partici-
pants proved to be significant events in their lives.
Future research may benefit from multiple measures
of life events, including those of both daily hassles
and higher impact traumatic events to determine
whether the relationships noted above hold for high
impact traumatic events too.
In conclusion, the present findings highlight the
possibility that protective factors may foster resilience
in the face of adversity and reduce the potential
impact of depressive symptoms in children. They
also illustrate, however, that future research is
needed to develop a clearer understanding of the
development of positive attributional style, and the
manner in which it moderates and/or mediates
the association between life events and depressive
symptoms throughout childhood. This will provide
increased evidence of both vulnerability and protec-
tive factors. These are important considerations
because they have very real implications for preven-
tion and early intervention in childhood depression
(Barrett & Ollendick, 2004).
218 L. Vines & R. D. V. Nixon
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the schools and their
staff who participated in the study for their help and
assistance. We would also like to thank the families,
and particularly the children who participated in the
study.
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