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Document Type (Journals)

Original Research

Abstract

Intrapersonal and interpersonal skills are essential for occupational therapy students’ professional development and fieldwork success. Despite their importance, these competencies are often ambiguously defined, inconsistently assessed, and underemphasized in curricula. Attribution theory, a well-established framework from social psychology, provides a valuable lens for examining how students’ causal attributions influence their motivation, behavior, and professional growth. This scoping review aimed to synthesize the application of attribution theory in health professions education by characterizing attribution-focused interventions, assessments, and student outcomes. Following Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) five-stage framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we conducted systematic searches across Academic Premier, CINAHL, ERIC, OTSeeker, and PubMed databases. Of 689 identified records, six met the inclusion criteria, yielding 21 unique attribution-focused assessments. Most studies employed researcher-manipulated vignettes, which produced measurable changes in students’ emotional, social-behavioral, and professional responses toward clients. Specifically, when health professions students attributed the cause of disability to be more internal and controllable, they exhibited diminished professional behavior; conversely, external, uncontrollable attributions elicited greater empathy and supportive behaviors. Only one study directly assessed students’ baseline attributional characteristics, highlighting the need for further research on their role in intrapersonal skill development. Overall, findings suggest that interventions informed by attribution theory, including clinical vignettes and attribution retraining programs, may foster adaptive attributional patterns, reduce stigma, and promote equitable practice for health professions students. Attribution-focused interventions have the potential to enhance professionalism and support fieldwork performance, particularly for Level I and Level II occupational therapy students at risk of struggling or failing in clinical placements.

Biography

Julia Shin, EdD, MS, OTR/L, BCP is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Creighton University in Omaha, NE. She is a board-certified occupational therapist in pediatrics with specialized training in community-based participatory research and health disparities research. Her research interests include culturally effective care in rehabilitation education and practice and student fieldwork outcomes informed by attribution theory.

Anna Domina, OTD, OTR/L is an Associate Professor, Interim Capstone Coordinator, and Chair in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Creighton University in Omaha. Her research interests include fieldwork outcomes, attribution theory application, and best practices for doctoral capstone and occupational therapy fellowship programs.

Ashley Fecht, OTD, OTR/L is an Assistant Professor, Director of Academic Clinical Education, and Academic Clinical Education Coordinator at Creighton University in Omaha, NE. Her research interests include best practices in clinical education, the impact of standardized patient experiences on student learning/performance, interprofessional education/learning, mental health, and pediatric topics.

Lisa Bagby, OTD, OTR/L, MHA is the Administrator for Care Management Services for a private care management company in Fairfax, VA. Lisa has specialized training in community-based participatory research, program development, and program management. Her research interests include psychosocial aspects of neurological rehabilitation, adult democratic education and civic engagement, as well as student fieldwork outcomes informed by attribution theory.

Raigan Borsh, OTD, OTR/L is an occupational therapist working in acute care in Kansas City, Missouri. She is passionate about critical care, CVA, SCI, and COVID-19. She is a graduate from Creighton University's OT program.

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no declarations of interest.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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