Social cognition and resilience
A study of the role of cognitive attributional style in the transition to secondary school
Why?
What?
1 : Cognitive attributional style was
significantly associated with
psychological adaptation to
secondary school.
4
(i) There was a significant correlation between
psychological adaptation and CAS (r=.284,
p<0.01)
Pupil responses may thus be affected by the
presence of other resilience factors: CAS,
stress in the school environment, gender,
ethnicity, socio-economic status and
attainment.
How?
•Retrospective survey based study with 284
participants in Year 7: 148 attended regular
secondary school, 136 attended a lowstress school.
•Cognitive attributional style measured by
Children’s Attributional Style Interview
(Haines et al, 2005)
•Psychological adaptation measured by
Psychological Sense of School Membership
Scale (Goodenow, 1993)
3.8
(ii) There was a significant main effect of CAS on
psychological adaptation (F (2,282)
=10.985, p<0.00)
(2,282)
4
3.4
3.2
3
Negative
Neutral
Positive
Cognitive Attributional Style group
significantly associated with
psychological adaptation.
3.9
3.8
PSSM score
3.6
2: School environment was
4.1
Transition to secondary school is a challenging
time when social, academic and psychological
outcomes can be adversely affected. This study
conceptualises transition as a process involving
the loss of protective factors present in the
primary school environment (e.g. close adult
relationships, high support, more social
closeness).
4.2
PSSM score
The resilience framework shows how
community, family and individual factors affect
the trajectories of children. Protective factors
operate to buffer the child against risk factors or
challenging experiences. This study argues that
CAS should be seen as an individual factor
which may affect resilient responses to the
secondary school transition. A positive
cognitive attributional style (CAS) has been
found to be the most psychologically healthy
(Seligman, 1995). A negative CAS has been
linked with depression, anxiety, decreased
motivation and lower social support (e.g. BellDolan and Wessler,1994, Kloosterman, 1998).
So?
3.7
3.6
3.5
3.4
3.3
3.2
Regular
Low-s tres s
S ch ool e n viron m e nt
Participants attending the regular school
environment scored significantly lower on
psychological adaptation than participants in the
low-stress environment (t =7.11, p<0.00)
It appears that attributional style could operate as
a resiliency factor in secondary school transition
whereby a negative attributional style increases
the risk of poor psychological adaptation and a
positive attributional style reduces this risk. It is
proposed that this is due to the impact that CAS
has on pupil’s interpretations of experiences in
their new school. CAS could also have a indirect
impact by affecting the way pupils access social
support or utilise coping strategies. The study
proposes CAS could be a potential target for
individual or group intervention, in either a
preventative or reactive method.
Pupils in the low stress environment had better
psychological adaptation than pupils in the
regular environment. The low stress environment
had many more factors in common with primary
schools and as such may provide more protective
factors, such as social closeness, closer teacherpupil relationships. There may also have been
systematic differences between the schools, such
as overall ethos, autonomy, and pedagogy.
3: The relationship between cognitive attributional
style and psychological adaptation was
significantly stronger in the lower stress
environment.
Regression analysis between CAS and
psychological adaptation were carried
out for both environments. The beta
value for the low stress environment
was significantly higher than for the
regular environment.
4: There was no significant
association between PSSM and the
factors gender, socio-economic
status, ethnicity or attainment
Who? Dr Jennifer Wills
UCL and Tower Hamlets EPS.
The impact of CAS was stronger in the low stress
environment. This was thought to be due to there
being fewer mediating (stressful) factors in that
environment, thus giving CAS more power to
affect psychological adaptation.
But? The measures for demographic data may
not have been sensitive enough. There was a
reduced sample size for this analysis (n=148).
5: Multiple regression analysis was
used to determine the relative
predictive power of each factor. A
non-significant model emerged.
Future research: Longitudinal study? Better
demographic data? Use of qualitative data?
Multiple measures? Specific measures of school
stress?
References:
References: Bell-Dolan,
Bell-Dolan, D.
D. J.
J. &
& Wessler,
Wessler, A.
A. E.
E. (1994).
(1994). Attributional
Attributional style
style of
of anxious
anxious children:
children: Extensions
Extensions from
from cognitive theory
theory and
and research
research on
on adult
adult anxiety.
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Journal of
of
Anxiety
Disorders,
8,
79-96.
Goodenow,
C.
(1993).
Classroom
belonging
among
early
adolescent
students:
Relationships
to
motivation
and
achievement.
The
Anxiety Disorders, 8,
The Journal
Journal of
of
Early
Early Adolescence,
Adolescence, 13, 21-43.
21-43. Haines,
Haines, B.A.,
B.A., Wells,
Wells, R.,
R., Ruguer,
Ruguer, S.Y.,
S.Y., Conley,
Conley, C.S., Louie,
Louie, B.K.,
B.K., Lukk,
Lukk, A.A.,
A.A., &Miner,
&Miner, A.S.,
A.S., (2005)
(2005) Children’s Attributional
Attributional Style
Style Interview
Interview
manual.
manual. Unpublished
Unpublished manuscript.
manuscript. Kloosterman,
Kloosterman, P.
P. (1988). Self-confidence
Self-confidence and
and motivation
motivation in
in mathematics.
mathematics. Journal
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of Educational
Educational Psychology,
Psychology, 80,
80, 345-351.
345-351. Seligman,
Seligman,
M.E.P.
(1995).The
optimistic
child.
New
York:
Harper
Collins
M.E.P. (1995).The optimistic child. New York: Harper Collins