Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire (CASQ-R)

Abstract

The Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire–Revised (CASQ-R) is a widely utilized self-report instrument designed to assess the characteristic manner in which children explain the causes of life events. Based on the reformulated attributional style model, the CASQ-R measures explanatory patterns across three crucial dimensions: internality, stability, and globality, applied separately to both positive and negative hypothetical outcomes. The scale is frequently employed in research concerning the cognitive vulnerability to depression, identifying a pessimistic explanatory style as a significant risk factor for psychopathology in youth.

Keywords

Attributional Style, Children, CASQ-R, Depression, Explanatory Style, Cognitive Assessment, Learned Helplessness, Psychological Assessment

Authors

Thompson, M., Kaslow, N.J., Weiss, B., Nolen-Hoeksema, S.

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the CASQ-R is to quantify an individual child’s typical pattern of causal explanations—their attributional style—for hypothetical positive and negative life events. This assessment is foundational in psychological research related to the diathesis-stress model of depression in youth, which posits that certain cognitive styles interact with stressful life events to precipitate depressive episodes.

Specifically, the instrument aims to identify a pessimistic explanatory style, characterized by attributing negative events to internal, stable, and global factors, and positive events to external, unstable, and specific factors. Identifying this style allows clinicians and researchers to screen for cognitive vulnerabilities that may precede and predict the onset of depressive symptoms or related disorders.

Construct

The CASQ-R measures the three core dimensions of causal attribution derived from the revised Learned Helplessness theory originally put forth by Seligman and colleagues. These dimensions describe the perceived nature of the cause:

• Internality versus Externality: Measures whether the cause of the event is attributed to something about the child (internal) or to factors outside the child (external), such as other people or circumstances.
• Stability versus Instability: Measures whether the cause is viewed as long-lasting and recurring (stable) or temporary and transient (unstable).
• Globality versus Specificity: Measures whether the cause is seen as affecting many areas of the child’s life (global) or confined only to the specific situation presented (specific).

The scale yields scores for six subscales (three dimensions crossed with two valences: Positive and Negative events) and a crucial composite score (Composite Negative Attributional Style). A high score on the negative dimensions of internality, stability, and globality indicates a disposition toward negative cognitive biases associated with clinical depression.

Validity

Studies supporting the CASQ-R (1998 revision) have consistently demonstrated acceptable levels of construct validity. Research confirms that the pessimistic attributional style measured by the CASQ-R is significantly correlated with concurrent and prospective measures of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents, aligning with theoretical predictions.

The scale has exhibited strong criterion validity by successfully differentiating between clinically depressed and non-depressed youth across various samples. Furthermore, the CASQ-R has shown predictive validity in longitudinal studies, suggesting that the measured attributional style acts as a stable cognitive diathesis that precedes and predicts the future onset or recurrence of depressive episodes following exposure to negative life stress.

Reliability

The CASQ-R generally exhibits moderate to good internal consistency, particularly when utilizing the overall Composite Negative Attributional Style score. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) for the individual subscales is often lower due to the limited number of items dedicated to each specific dimension (typically four items per dimension for positive and negative events).

Test-retest reliability for the CASQ-R has been reported as acceptable across short time intervals, indicating that the measured attributional style is a relatively stable trait over time in middle childhood and early adolescence, which is essential for a measure intended to capture a cognitive vulnerability factor. The 1998 revision specifically aimed to enhance the psychometric properties and overall reliability compared to the original Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire (CASQ).

Factor Analysis

Factor analytic studies of the CASQ-R often present complex results. While the scale is theoretically grounded in a six-factor model (Internality, Stability, and Globality, differentiated by Positive and Negative event valence), empirical factor analyses frequently struggle to perfectly replicate this clean structure. This difficulty is common in self-report measures of attributional style, partly due to the forced-choice format and the developmental nuances in how children interpret causal dimensions.

However, analyses consistently support the primary differentiation between attributions for Positive Events (P Score) and attributions for Negative Events (N Score). Most research validates the practical utility of the Composite Negative Attributional Style score, which aggregates pessimistic choices across the three dimensions for negative events. This composite factor consistently emerges as the most robust predictor of clinical outcomes, validating its use in psychological assessment.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire; Forced-choice inventory.

Format: 24 hypothetical events, each followed by two causal explanations (A and B). The respondent selects the explanation that best reflects their usual thinking.

Language Available: English (original). Translations may be available in subsequent research.

Population Group: Children and early adolescents.

Age Group: Typically utilized with children aged 8 to 13 years (middle childhood).

Population Details: Used in clinical settings, research studies, and school environments to evaluate cognitive risk factors for affective disorders.

Test Methodology: The child reads (or is read) a scenario and chooses between two provided causal explanations. Scoring is dichotomous (0 or 1), assigning a point for a pessimistic or optimistic choice, which is then summed across the dimensions (Internality, Stability, Globality) for both positive and negative event types.

Keywords

Pessimistic Explanatory Style, Child Psychology, Cognitive Vulnerability, Clinical Assessment, Causal Attribution, Affective Disorders

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Information not available in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Information not available in source content.

Correspondence Address: Information not available in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire–Revised (CASQ-R) was published in 1998 by Thompson, Kaslow, Weiss, and Nolen-Hoeksema. The scale is widely cited in academic literature and measurement sourcebooks, such as Measures for Clinical Practice and Research (Fischer & Corcoran, 2007). Researchers seeking to use the instrument for commercial or large-scale clinical purposes should seek formal permission from the primary authors or the original publishing journal (Psychological Assessment).

Reference’s

• Thompson, M., Kaslow, N.J., Weiss, B., Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1998). Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire-Revised. Psychological Assessment 10(2):166-170.

• Fischer, Joel., Corcoran, Kevin J. (2007). Measures for Clinical Practice and research: A sourcebook. (4th ed.). NY. Oxford University Pr. Vol. 1, Page (s): 467-470.

• The instrument can be found at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232557413.

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Items of the Children’s Attributional Style Questionnaire (CASQ-R)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. You get an “A” on a test.

A. I am smart.

B. I am good in the subject that the test was in.

2. Some kids that you know say that they do not like you.

A. Once in a while people are mean to me.

B. Once in a while I am mean to other people.

3. A good friend tells you that he hates you.

A. My friend was in a bad mood that day.

B. I wasn’t nice to my friend that day.

4. A person steals money from you.

A That person is not honest.

B. Many people are not honest.

5. Your parents tell you that something that you make is very good.

A. I am good at making some things.

B. My parents like some things I make.

6. You break a glass.

A. I am not careful enough.

B. Sometimes I am not careful enough.

7. You do a project with a group of kids and it turns out badly.

A. I don’t work well with the people in that particular group.

B. I never work well with groups.

8. You make a new friend.

A. I am a nice person.

B. The people that I meet are nice.

9. You have been getting along well with your family.

A. I am usually easy to get along with when I am with my family.

B. Once in a while I am easy to get along with when I am with my family.

10. You get a bad grade in school.

A. I am not a good student.

B. Teachers give hard tests.

11. You walk into a door and you get a bloody nose.

A. I wasn’t looking where I was going.

B. I have been careless lately.

12. You have a messy room.

A. I did not clean my room that day.

B. I usually do not clean my room.

13. Your mother makes you your favorite dinner.

A. There are a few things that my mother will do to please me.

B. My mother usually likes to please me.

14. A team that you are on loses a game‚

A. The team members don’t help each other when they play together.

B. That day the team members didn’t help each other.

15. You do not get your chores done at home.

A. I was lazy that day.

B. Many days I am lazy.

16. You go to an amusement park and you have a good time.

A. I usually enjoy myself at amusement parks.

B. I usually enjoy myself in many activities.

17. You go to a friend’s party and you have fun.

A. Your friend usually gives good parties.

B. Your friend gave a good party that day.

18. You have a substitute teacher and she likes you.

A. I was well behaved during class that day.

B. I am almost always well behaved during class.

19. You make your friends happy.

A. I am usually a fun person to be with.

B. Sometimes I am a fun person to be with.

20. You put a hard puzzle together.

A. I am good at putting puzzles together.

B. I am good at doing many things.

21. You try out for a sports team and do not make it.

A. I am not good at sports.

B. The other kids who tried out are very good at sports.

22. You fail a test.

A. All tests are hard.

B. Only some tests are hard.

23. You hit a home run in a ball game.

A. I swung the bat just right.

B. The pitcher threw an easy pitch.

24. You do the best in your class on a paper.

A. The other kids in my class did not work hard on their papers.

B. I worked hard on the paper.

Positive events: 5A‚ 8A‚ 23A‚ and 24B; Stability: 9A‚ 17A‚ 18B‚ and 19A; globality: 1A‚ 13B‚ 16B‚ and 20B;

Negative events: 2B‚ 3B‚ 10A‚ and 21A; Stability: 6A‚ 12B‚ 14A‚ and 15B; globality: 4B‚ 7B‚ 11B‚ and 22B