Attributional style across the schizophrenia spectrum

Abstract

In this article we present a review of empirical studies into the attributional style in patients with schizophrenic disorders which have been published in the last fifteen years. Some of these investigations, irrespective of their diagnosis, have focused on the study of attributions in persons experiencing persecutory delusions. Others have centred on the attributional style of specific diagnostic categories, such as delusional disorder or schizophrenia. Because of the diversity of the samples studied, we have found contradictory results. On the other hand, all these investigations are transversal, which does not permit us to study the causal relationship between the attributional style and the appearance of psychotic symptoms. With future research in this area these limitations may be overcome.