The Sociogenesis of Psychological Disorder: An Attributional Theory

Before social causation explanations of psychological disorder can be considered plausible, the process by which socialfactors may affect the development of disorder must be made explicit in terms of a given theory. This paper formulates an attributional theory intended primarily to explain social status effects, although other applications are possible. The point of departure for this model is the socializing influence of SES on causal attribution tendencies (i.e., fatalism) and the resulting variation in vulnerability to psychological disorder. Data from two panel studies suggest that causal attribution styles could in fact play a central role in the mediation of social causation of disorder. Comparisons of two contrasting versions of the attributional model show that a simple, linear interpretation of the intervening effects offatalism may be the most adequate. The paper concludes with suggestions for elaborations of the basic theory.