An empirical investigation of the specificity and sensitivity of the automatic thoughts questionnaire and dysfunctional attitudes scale

Cognitive assessment of depression is not well advanced and the evidence for the validity and reliability of measures is incomplete. This study examined two cognitive assessments of depression-the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ) and the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS). There were two major objectives of this study. The first objective was to examine the ability of these two measures of cognitions to discriminate depressive symptomatology within a variety of sample populations-university undergraduate students, medical and psychiatric outpatients, and acute psychiatric inpatients. The second objective was to examine the ability of the ATQ and DAS succesfully to classify depressed and nondepressed patients. The results of this study suggest that the ATQ is a sensitive and specific measure of depression. Nonspecificity to the ATQ, however, was demonstrated in the substance abuse disorder group and the personality disorder group. In contrast, the DAS, although correlated with depressive symptomatology, was not found to be specific to depression.Part of this project is supported by a Special Project Grant from the University of Queensland to Dr. Oei.     

Repetitive Negative Thinking Predicts Depressed Mood at 3-Year Follow-up in Students

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT; e.g., rumination and worry) is a key-factor involved in the maintenance of emotional problems like depression and anxiety. Recently, the Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ) was developed as a content-independent measure of RNT. The current study investigated the validity of this new measure in predicting depressive symptoms prospectively. Eighty-one students completed measures of depressive symptoms, depressive rumination and repetitive negative thinking. Depressive symptoms were re-assessed 3?years later (40?months follow-up). Results showed that repetitive negative thinking as measured by the PTQ predicts depressive symptoms at follow-up, even when taking into account baseline depressive symptoms and rumination. The results suggest that the PTQ has good (prospective) predictive validity for depressed mood and reconfirm RNT’s role in the course of emotional complaints.     

Measurement of anxious traits: a contemporary review and synthesis

Trait anxiety is a characteristic predisposition to appraise stimuli as threatening and respond with anxiety. Trait anxiety is proposed to serve as a vulnerability factor for greater frequency and intensity of anxiety experiences as well as the development of anxious pathology. Cognitive, behavioral, and physiological components of trait anxiety have been described. Common self-report measures of trait anxiety are reviewed with an emphasis on: components assessed, factor structure, internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity. Measures were selected if instructions ask individuals to endorse items based on their characteristic, rather than a time sensitive, response. Selection criteria resulted in a focus on the following measures: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Beck Anxiety Inventory-Trait (BAIT), Cognitive Somatic Anxiety Questionnaire (CSAQ), Endler Multidimensional Anxiety Scales-Trait (EMAS-T), Four Systems Anxiety Questionnaire (FSAQ), State-Trait Inventory for Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety (STICSA), and the Three Systems Anxiety Questionnaire (TSAQ). While the STAI has the advantage of normative data and frequent use in prior research, newer measures, such as the BAIT and the STICSA, demonstrate greater discriminant validity. The strengths and weaknesses of each of the reviewed measures are highlighted. Recommendations for measure selection and future research are provided.     

Cognitive representation of challenging behaviour among staff working with adults with learning disabilities

Cognitive representations of illness have been identified as a determinant of therapeutic outcomes in a variety of health care settings. This paper describes the development of a Likert-type questionnaire to assess how the concept of challenging behaviour is cognitively represented in staff working with adults with learning disabilities. The Challenging Behaviour Representation Questionnaire (CBRQ) was theoretically derived, drawing on two existing measures: the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ) and the Challenging Behaviour Attributions Scale (CHABA). Items for the questionnaire were generated from responses by 300 direct care staff. The questionnaire shows acceptable levels of internal and external reliability. The questionnaire has face validity and a measure of concurrent validity. There is evidence that challenging behaviour is cognitively represented in care staff in a multi-dimensional way, consistent with other studies in health psychology. This has implications for future staff training in this area.     

The personal style inventory: Preliminary validation studies of new measures of sociotropy and autonomy

We conducted five studies with depressed patients, demographically matched controls, and college students to develop and psychometrically evaluate new measures of concerns about interpersonal relationships (sociotropy) and autonomous achievement (autonomy), constructs that have been proposed to confer vulnerability to depression. The final version of the Personal Style Inventory (PSI) Sociotropy and Autonomy scales showed a good factor structure, internal consistency reliability, and test-retest stability, a low correlation with each other, and weak or no gender differences. Convergent and discriminant validity were examined with respect to depressive symptom levels, the Dependency and Self-Criticism scales of the Revised Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, and a social desirability scale and were generally acceptable. Further evaluations of the construct validity of the PSI are indicated.     

The assessment of unwanted intrusive thoughts: A review and critique of the literature

In this paper we review the assessment and measurement of normal unwanted intrusive thoughts, images, and impulses that are considered the basis of clinical obsessions. After highlighting some difficulties with how the definition of cognitive intrusion has been applied to the development of assessment measures, we evaluate the construct validity of a number of retrospective self-report instruments such as the Intrusive Thoughts Questionnaire, Cognitive Intrusions Questionnaire, and Obsessional Intrusions Inventory, as well as interview and diary procedures. Measures of personal responsibility and meta-cognitive beliefs, which are still in the developmental phase, are also discussed. We conclude with a number of recommendations and areas of further research which would strengthen the construct validity of measures of intrusive thoughts and related constructs.     

青少年抑郁综合认知模型及其性别差异

Beck抑郁认知理论认为功能失调性态度和自动思维对抑郁的形成和发展有着重要的影响, 但是不同水平的认知因素在青少年抑郁中起什么样的作用还有待于进一步的研究。根据Oei和Kwon (2007)综合认知模型(ICM), 我们假设在青少年负性生活事件和抑郁症状间功能失调性态度是调节变量, 而自动思维是中介变量。研究采用开学初和临近期末间隔近四个月两个时间点的纵向数据搜集方式, 对613名初中生施以青少年生活事件量表(ASLEC)、功能失调性态度问卷(DAS)、自动思维问卷(ATQ)以及流调中心用抑郁量表(CES-D), 然后通过路径分析对模型进行了拟合度和性别差异检验, 结果表明：(1)各变量显著相关(p<0.01), 且各变量间隔四个月两个时间点的分数差异显著(p<0.01); (2)修正后的青少年抑郁综合认知模型较好地拟了数据, 且功能失调性态度与负性生活事件的交互作用对自动思维的影响上女生的路径系数显著大于男生。结论：功能失调性态度在负性生活事件和青少年抑郁症状间起调节作用, 而自动思维从中起到了认知中介的作用, 且该模型性别差异显著。     

Social-cognitive processing and depressive symptoms in children: A comparison of measures

We assessed aspects of the reliability and validity of three measures of socialcognitive processing in children that have been developed to investigate the relations of such processes to childhood depression: the Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire (CASQ), the Children's Negative Cognitive Error Questionnaire (CNCEQ), and the Common Beliefs Inventory for Students (CBIS). In an unselected sample of 61 children, aged 8 to 12, the internal consistencies of the total scores on the CNCEQ and the CBIS were good; for the CASQ, it was only moderate. Internal consistencies of all subscale scores were inadequate. Despite this, several subscale and total scores were significantly associated with depressive symptoms, and the measures were generally correlated with each other. Although these data are encouraging concerning the role of social-cognitive processing in childhood depression, the field needs to develop psychometrically stronger measures and to test the role of social cognition in prospective studies of depression.This study was supported in part by a grant from the Spencer Foundation Awards to Young Scholars Program to the first author. The authors would like to express their thanks to Deborah Long for secretarial assistance, and to W. Edward Craighead, John Curry, and two anonymous reviewers for comments on an earlier draft of this article.     

The cognitive-somatic anxiety questionnaire: Psychometric and validity data

The Cognitive-Somatic Anxiety Questionnaire (CSAQ) is a 14-item self-report inventory that is divided into two 7-item scales (Cognitive and Somatic) that appear to reflect cognitive or somatic anxiety. In an attempt to evaluate the construct validity of this multidimensional instrument, the CSAQ was administered to 109 college students along with several other measures of physical and psychological symptoms. The results suggest that (a) despite considerable overlap between the Cognitive and the Somatic scales (r=.62), an exploratory factor analysis is able to identify a single large somatic factor along with three lesser cognitive-appearing factors, and (b) the correlations with concurrent measures of related constructs provide some limited evidence of the construct validity of the CSAQ. For males, both the Cognitive and the Somatic scales of the CSAQ correlated significantly with several anxietyrelated measures. However, for females CSAQ scores correlated less consistently with the other test scales, although Somatic scale scores for females were positively related to measures of health and exercise involvement. Suggestions for improving the CSAQ are offered.     

Cognitive specificity in emotional distress

Cognitive approaches to emotional distress posit that specific cognitive factors are critically linked to the etiology, course, or treatment of dysfunction. Although a number of empirical studies have assessed cognitive factors in emotional disorders such as depression and anxiety, research has yet to assess these variables simultaneously and with identical cognitive measures. Using depression and test anxiety as models of dysfunctional affective states, we examined cognitive specificity on measures of information processing, attributions, automatic thinking, and cognitive interference. Results indicated a pattern of specificity showing several differences and similarities in depression and anxiety. Specifically, "purely" depressed individuals showed evidence of selectively processing depressive information, making dysfunctional attributions, and engaging in more negative automatic thinking. "Purely" anxious individuals, on the other hand, showed evidence of selective anxious information processing and increased cognitive interference. Results are discussed in terms of a taxonomy for classifying depressive and anxious cognition.     

Implications of research for the treatment of depressive disorders during childhood

Basic research into the prevalence, natural course, and phenomena of comorbidity of depressive disorders during childhood are reviewed and implications of this research for treating depressed youths are noted. Results of investigations into the biological aspects of depression are integrated into a multifactorial model of depressive disorders during childhood and the efficacy of pharmacological interventions is discussed. Cognitive theory is integrated with attachment theory to explain a possible avenue to the development of depressive disorders during childhood. Interpersonal therapy has emerged as a potentially effective intervention for depressed youths. Basic tenets of this treatment model are compared and contrasted to a cognitive-behavioral treatment model, and a hybrid treatment referred to as “cognitive therapy within the interpersonal context” is proposed.     

心理健康素质测评系统·中国成年人认知风格问卷的编制

通过对认知风格既往文献的回顾和分析,从临床心理学的角度将认知风格定义为个体在解释生活事件时所偏爱的和习惯化的特征性认知方式,并确定了4个维度：过度概括化、选择性提取、个体化和灾难化。通过开放式问卷调查、参考国内外已有量表、自编项目及专家评定,形成27个项目的认知风格问卷初测版,并分别在大学生样本和非学生样本中进行测试,筛选出在两个样本中都符合心理测量学要求的16个项目,最终形成认知风格问卷正式版。对认知风格问卷正式版进行心理测量学指标考察,结果发现问卷的内部一致性信度、重测信度、结构效度、内容效度、聚合效     

Implicit but not explicit self-esteem predicts future depressive symptomatology

To date, research on the predictive validity of implicit self-esteem for depressive relapse is very sparse. In the present study, we assessed implicit self-esteem using the Name Letter Preference Task and explicit self-esteem using the Rosenberg self-esteem scale in a group of currently depressed patients, formerly depressed individuals, and never depressed controls. In addition, we examined the predictive validity of explicit, implicit, and the interaction of explicit and implicit self-esteem in predicting future symptoms of depression in formerly depressed individuals and never depressed controls. The results showed that currently depressed individuals reported a lower explicit self-esteem as compared to formerly depressed individuals and never depressed controls. In line with previous research, all groups showed a positive implicit self-esteem not different from each other. Furthermore, after controlling for initial depressive symptomatology, implicit but not explicit self-esteem significantly predicted depressive symptoms at six months follow-up. Although implicit self-esteem assessed with the Name Letter Preference Test was not different between formerly depressed individuals and never depressed controls, the findings suggest it is an interesting variable in the study of vulnerability for depression relapse.     

Depression in child psychiatric inpatients: Cognitive and attributional patterns

Cognitive and learned helplessness models of depression view maladaptive cognitive and attributional patterns as core features of depressive disorders. This study examined cognitive and attributional patterns in depressed children, nondepressed children, and a subgroup of remitting depressives who had histories of depression but were not reporting depressive symptoms when evaluated during the first 2 weeks of hospitalization. When compared with nondepressed controls, depressed children reported significantly more hopelessness, more negative self-perceptions, and negative self-perceptions across a wider variety of domains, and they displayed more dysfunctional attributional styles. While 55% of depressed children displayed pervasive maladaptive cognitive patterns, the other 45% of depressed children scored more similarly to nondepressed children, suggesting that childhood depressive disorders may be heterogeneous with respect to cognitive patterns. Contrary to the notion of traitlike depressive cognitive and attributional patterns that persist after the remission of depressive episodes, children with remitting depressions scored similarly to nondepressed children.Partial support for this project was provided by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation as part of their Network on Risk and Protective Factors in the Major Mental Disorders. I wish to thank Donald Guthrie for providing statistical consultation, Gwen Gordon for her computer assistance, and Niels Mueller and Jean Keller for their help with data collection.     

Depression, anxiety, and the MCMI-III: construct validity and diagnostic efficiency

This study aimed to enhance knowledge of the construct validity and diagnostic efficiency of the depression- and anxiety-related scales of the MCMI-III (Millon, 1994). The MCMI-III, various concurrent depression and anxiety measures, and an Axis I structured diagnostic interview were administered in a total sample of 696 outpatients with depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, or both. Sound construct validity was found for the Dysthymia and Major Depression clinical syndrome scales and the Avoidant and Depressive personality disorder scales. The validity of the Anxiety scale was poor, showing moderate convergence with panic and worry-related anxiety measures, but problems discriminating from depression. Operating characteristics for discriminating depressed patients from anxious patients were fair for the Major Depression scale, but poor for the Anxiety and Dysthymia scales.     

Validation of a subjective helplessness measure

Investigated the potential utility and validity of a measure of subjective helplessness, the H25. Helplessness is defined as the degree to which the individual perceives him/herself to be unable to influence or control the initiation and outcome of a variety of potentially reinforcing activities. Alcoholic subjects were classified into three levels of self-reported helplessness. An initial multivariate analysis of variance indicated that the groups differed with respect to severity level across a number of dimensions of depressive symptomatology, with the High Helplessness group appearing significantly more depressed on each of the measures than Low Helplessness subjects. Subsequent analyses supported the construct validity of the H25. Those measures found to be most descriminating between groups and most predictive of the level of helplessness reflected a dimension of behavioral retardation consistent with the motivational dificits noted in the learned helplessness model. Recommendations for the future validation of individual difference measures of helplessness are discussed.     

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: Validity and Psychological Correlates in a Clinical Samples

This study sought to compare the original and revised scoring systems of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) and to assess the construct validity of the Dependent and Self-critical subscales of the DEQ in a clinically depressed sample. Subjects were 103 depressed inpatients who completed the DEQ the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Hopelessness Scale, the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ), the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS), and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The original and revised scoring systems of the DEQ evidenced good concurrent validity for each factor scale, but the revised system did not sufficiently discriminate dependent and self-critical dimensions. Using the original scoring system, self-criticism was significantly and positively related to severity of depression, whereas dependency was not, particularly for males. Factor analysis of the DEQ scales and the other scales used in this study supported the dependent and self-critical dimensions. For men, the correlation of the DEQ with the MMPI scales indicated that self-criticism was associated with psychotic symptoms, hostility/conflict, and a distress/exaggerated response set, whereas dependency did not correlate significantly with any MMPI scales. Females, however, did not exhibit a differential pattern of correlations between either the Dependency or the Self-criticism scales and the MMPI. These findings suggest possible gender differences in the clinical characteristics of male and female dependent and self-critical depressive subtypes.     

The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire: validity and psychological correlates in a clinical sample

This study sought to compare the original and revised scoring systems of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ) and to assess the construct validity of the Dependent and Self-Critical subscales of the DEQ in a clinically depressed sample. Subjects were 103 depressed inpatients who completed the DEQ, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Hopelessness Scale, the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ), the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS), and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The original and revised scoring systems of the DEQ evidenced good concurrent validity for each factor scale, but the revised system did not sufficiently discriminate dependent and self-critical dimensions. Using the original scoring system, self-criticism was significantly and positively related to severity of depression, whereas dependency was not, particularly for males. Factor analysis of the DEQ scales and the other scales used in this study supported the dependent and self-critical dimensions. For men, the correlation of the DEQ with the MMPI scales indicated that self-criticism was associated with psychotic symptoms, hostility/conflict, and a distress/exaggerated response set, whereas dependency did not correlate significantly with any MMPI scales. Females, however, did not exhibit a differential pattern of correlations between either the Dependency or the Self-Criticism scales and the MMPI. These findings suggest possible gender differences in the clinical characteristics of male and female dependent and self-critical depressive subtypes.     

Peer Nomination Inventory of Depression: Characteristics in a Spanish sample

The Peer Nomination Inventory of Depression (PNID) was answered by 1,121 children from Barcelona in the fourth year of grammar school and by their teachers (n=36) to analyze this questionnaire in a Spanish sample. The results indicated (1) high internal consistency; (2) discriminative power between depressed and nondepressed; (3) low concurrent validity; (4) convergent and discriminant validity; (5) a two-factor structure; and (6) that two discriminant functions could differentiate between depressed, dysthymic, and nondepressed subjects. The teacher's responses showed (1) moderate internal consistency; (2) discriminative power between depressed and nondepressed groups; (3) moderate concurrent validity; (4) and that two discriminant functions could differentiate between the diagnostic groups. The importance of the information given by the teacher to help detect severe depressive problems was pointed out.     

The cognitive failures questionnaire revisited: dimensions and correlates

The authors reexamined the factor structure of the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (D. E. Broadbent, P. F. Cooper, P. Fitzgerald, & K. R. Parkes, 1982) and its correlates. The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire was designed to assess a person's likelihood of committing an error in the completion of an everyday task. A principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation yielded 4 internally consistent, interpretable factors. These factors were labeled Memory, Distractibility, Blunders, and (memory for) Names. This study lends partial support for the factor analytic solution proposed by L. K. Pollina, A. L. Greene, R. H. Tunick, and J. M. Puckett (1992). In addition, it extends previous findings by providing initial evidence for the construct validity of the factors established by correlating factor scores with measures of other related constructs (i.e., boredom proneness, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, Type A behavior pattern).