Depressed clients' attributions of responsibility for the causes of and solutions to their problems

This study examined the attribution made by depressed clients about responsibility for the causes of solutions to their problems. A total of 160 university counceling center clients completed the Beck Depression Inventory (A. T. Beck & R. A. Steer, 1987) and instruments measuring attributions of responsibility, internality, and cotrollability fot their problems. Support was obtained for the Hypothesis that depressed clients blame themselves more for causing their problems than do nondepressed clients. However, client attributions of responsibility for solving problems were not affected by level of depressive symptoms. Finally, P. Brickman et al.'s (1982) theory of responsibility attributions was found to be modesty related with B. Weiner's (1985) attribution theory.