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Lackner RJ, Moore MT, Minerovic J, et al. Explanatory flexibility and explanatory style in treatment-seeking clients with Axis I psychopathology. Cognit Ther Res. 2015;39(6):736-743doi: 10.1007/s10608-015-9702-8.
Lackner, R. J., Moore, M. T., Minerovic, J., & Fresco, D. M. (2015). Explanatory flexibility and explanatory style in treatment-seeking clients with Axis I psychopathology. Cognitive therapy and research, 39(6), 736-743. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-015-9702-8
Lackner, Ryan J, et al. "Explanatory flexibility and explanatory style in treatment-seeking clients with Axis I psychopathology." Cognitive therapy and research vol. 39,6 (2015): 736-743. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-015-9702-8
Lackner RJ, Moore MT, Minerovic J, Fresco DM. Explanatory flexibility and explanatory style in treatment-seeking clients with Axis I psychopathology. Cognit Ther Res. 2015 Dec 01;39(6):736-743. doi: 10.1007/s10608-015-9702-8. Epub 2015 Jul 04. PMID: 26696692; PMCID: PMC4684804.
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Cognit Ther Res. 2015 Dec 01;39(6):736-743. doi: 10.1007/s10608-015-9702-8. Epub 2015 Jul 04.

Explanatory flexibility and explanatory style in treatment-seeking clients with Axis I psychopathology.

Cognitive therapy and research

Ryan J Lackner, Michael T Moore, Julia Minerovic, David M Fresco

Affiliations

  1. Kent State University, Department of Psychology, Kent, OH.
  2. Jackson State University, Department of Psychology, Jackson, MS ; Dr. Moore is now at Adelphi University, Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Garden City, NY.

PMID: 26696692 PMCID: PMC4684804 DOI: 10.1007/s10608-015-9702-8

Abstract

Cognitive diathesis stress models of depression emphasize individual styles of attributing causal explanations to negative and positive events in life. The Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) has traditionally been used to measure explanatory style, defined as an individual's habitual way of assigning causes to negative events. Explanatory flexibility, rather than focusing on the content of one's thoughts, emphasizes the extent to which individuals are able to make different attributions depending on the particular context of each event. The underlying notion is that individuals who are better able to adapt to the cues and demands of a stressful situation may be able to respond more effectively and are thereby less vulnerable to depression. Despite evidence attesting to its relevance to depression and anxiety disorders, explanatory flexibility has yet to be examined in a purely treatment-seeking sample of patients clinically diagnosed with Axis I psychopathology. The current study examined baseline levels of explanatory flexibility, along with explanatory style, in a sample of 171 treatment-seeking patients diagnosed with either major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), or at least one other Axis I disorder. Overall, the results replicate and extend past results indicating a distinction between explanatory flexibility and explanatory style. Furthermore, patients with MDD and GAD demonstrated lower levels of explanatory flexibility relative to patients with other Axis I disorders. Thus, explanatory flexibility may assist in our understanding of the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of emotional disorders, with particular relevance to MDD and GAD.

Keywords: Attributional Style Questionnaire; explanatory flexibility; explanatory style

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