Abstract

SANJUAN, Pilar  and  MAGALLANES, Alejandro. Explanatory styles and coping strategies. Clínica y Salud [online]. 2007, vol.18, n.1, pp.83-98. ISSN 2174-0550.

Negative attributional style or the relatively steady tendency to put poor outcomes down to internal, stable, and global causes, has been associated with the development of depressive symptoms and poor physical health. On the contrary, the tendency to put good outcomes down to internal, stable, and global causes (normally called enhancing explanatory style) has caught very little attention although results claim its protective role. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the likely mediating role of coping strategies between the explanatory styles and the development of depressive symptoms. Structural equation modelling showed that negative attributional style contributes to the development of depressive symptoms through the use of emotion-focused coping strategies and the non-use of problem-focused coping strategies. The opposite pattern was found for the enhancing explanatory style.

Keywords : Explanatory styles; Depressive symptoms; Coping strategies.

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