Citation

Kistner J, White K, Haskett M, Robbins F. J. Abnorm. Child Psychol. 1985; 13(4): 639-647.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1985, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

4078192

Abstract

The causal attributions of learning-disabled (LD) and normally achieving (NA) children in grades 3 through 8 were compared. Attributions were measured by two scales that asked children to attribute hypothetical academic failure situations to factors that were either within (e.g., insufficient effort) or beyond (e.g., insufficient ability, blaming others) their control. Consistent with a learned helplessness hypothesis. LD girls, regardless of age, were more likely than NA children to attribute their failures to factors beyond their control. In contrast, LD boys' explanations for their failures paralleled those of NA children. That is, with increasing age the LD boys were more likely to attribute their failures to insufficient effort. Explanations and implications of sex differences in developmental patterns of LD children's causal attributions are discussed.

Language: en