1985/06/01 by Elizabeth M. Altmaier, Deborah Happ · 1 citation
Psychology · #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Psychological Treatments and Assessments #Behavioral Health and Interventions #Learned helplessness #Attribution #Psychology #Locus of control #Coping (psychology) #Developmental psychology #Clinical psychology #Social psychology
paper · doi:10.1521/jscp.1985.3.2.181
openalex publication_date 1985/06/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of coping skills training, as defined by Meichenbaum (1977), in immunizing against learned helplessness. In addition, the relationship between locus of control and helplessness and the effects of coping skills training on subjects' attributions of performance were examined. Fifty-two subjects received coping skills training, while the remaining 62 subjects received no immunization treatment. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three helplessness conditions: soluble concept identification problems, insoluble problems, or a control condition. They were then asked to solve 20 five-letter anagrams (test task). In addition, all subjects completed Rotter's (1966) Locus of Control Scale and measures of performance attribution. Results indicated an immunization effect on the variable of trials to criterion. Conceptual similarity between external locus of control and helplessness was demonstrated on attributions of performance, and interaction effects of locus of control and coping skills training were obtained on several attribution measures. Results were interpreted within the learned helplessness attributional reformulation as supportive of using coping skills training in a preventive context.