Does attributional style predict nonfatal coronary recurrence in post-MI women?
In post-MI women, attributing the infarct to marital problems or spouses was significantly associated with nonfatal coronary recurrence.
The relationship between coronary heart-disease endpoints and attributional style in women has been previously unexamined. This study examined the attributions of 73 postmyocardial infarction (MI) women about their heart disease and explored the relationship between attributions and nonfatal coronary recurrence. Women's primary causal attributions included personal behavior (9.6%), blaming others (19.3%), stress (28.8%), luck (12.3%), and family history (13.7%). The largest proportion of recurrences occurred in women attributing their infarcts to marital problems. Of the attributional ratings, ascriptions involving spouses were the only attributions that met entry criteria for logistic regression (p = .019) after controlling for severity of first infarction.
Low et al. (Fri,) studied this question.