The SAS Project: An International Analysis of Causal Attributions and Well-Being in Faculty

• In Event: Motivation and Emotions of University Faculty: Predicting Teaching and Research Performance, Stress, and Well-Being

Abstract

Emerging research highlights the importance of examining predictors of well-being in post-secondary faculty (Byrne et al., 2013; Catano et al., 2010; Watts & Robertson, 2011). Existing research to date has principally examined contextual predictors of faculty adjustment (e.g., tenure status, Ghorpade et al., 2011; teaching-research balance, Gonzalez & Bernard, 2006; class size, Lackritz, 2004; institutional support, Rothmann et al., 2008). Recent research has also found motivational beliefs to predict faculty well-being such as dispositional optimism (Barkhuizen et al., 2014; Otero-López et al., 2008), intrinsic motivation (Fernet et al., 2004; Singh et al., 1998; Stupnisky et al., 2017), values (Siegall & McDonald, 2004), and perceived competence (Navarro et al., 2010).

According to Weiner’s (1985) attribution theory, individuals’ causal attributions for failure experiences can significantly impact not only persistence and performance, but also emotional well-being. Related research indeed shows faculty who perceive higher perceptions of controllability concerning academic demands to experience less burnout (Fernet et al., 2004; Gomes et al., 2013), with academic staff who report a global “attributional style” also reporting lower job satisfaction (e.g., administrators; Mark & Smith, 2012). However, the impact of causal attributions by faculty for real-world academic setbacks on well-being has yet to be empirically explored.

The present study addressed this research gap by examining relations between causal attributions and well-being among post-secondary faculty recruited internationally for a large-scale study on self-regulation and academic success (Author, 2016). Participants included 3,152 faculty employed as contingent or tenure-track/permanent faculty at a post-secondary institution. The sample was primarily female (69.6%), 39 years of age on average, reported a mean of 7.4 years of academic employment, and taught an average of 5.23 courses per year. Participants spoke mainly English as a first language (83%), were employed primarily in the U.S. (63%), and recruited from 68 additional countries and across 47 disciplines.

Causal attributions were assessed via a modified 12-item Causal Dimension Scale (McAuley et al., 1992) in which faculty indicated the most likely reason behind setbacks in their academic career (e.g., rejected manuscripts, low course evaluations) then rated the attribution according to locus of causality (e.g., “inside/outside of you”; α = .90), personal controllability (e.g., “(not) manageable by you”; α = .88), controllability by others (e.g., “others have (no) control”; α = .87), and stability over time (e.g., “permanent/temporary”; α = .69). Well-being measures were occupation-specific (job satisfaction, quitting intentions; Moe et al., 2010) and global in nature (work-life balance, Gutek et al., 1991; impostor syndrome, Clance, 1985; depression, CESD10; exhaustion, Maslach et al., 1996; illness symptoms; Cohen & Hoberman, 1983). Regressions controlling for gender, age, and experience revealed statistically significant and consistent effects across all well-being outcomes, with results showing hypothesized benefits of internal attributions (|β|s = .10-.46) and personally controllable attributions (|β|s = .16-.29), and negative effects of other-controllable attributions (|β|s = .07-.11) and unstable attributions (|β|s = .07-.14). These findings underscore the utility of Weiner’s attribution theory in accounting for well-being in post-secondary faculty and warrant further study concerning faculty orientation and intervention implications.

Author

• Nathan C. Hall, McGill University