Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of the Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire (CD-Quest) in College Students

Psychometric evaluation of the exercise-related cognitive errors questionnaire among Chinese emerging adults

Background

Cognitive errors involve negatively biased or distorted thinking patterns that can hinder effective decision-making. When such a phenomenon occurs in the exercise domain, this is referred to as exercise-related cognitive error. Such exercise-related cognitive errors are typically assessed via a questionnaire, but a validated instrument for the application in Chinese-speaking populations is lacking. Thus, this study aims to validate the Chinese version of the Exercise-related Cognitive Errors Questionnaire (E-CEQ-C) among Chinese emerging adults, a self-report measure to evaluate cognitive errors of context-relevant information related to exercise.

Methods

Following a forward-backward translation of the E-CEQ (N = 24 items), the E-CEQ-C and the Chinese version of the Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire (CD-Quest-C) for gathering evidence of criterion-related validity were administered among a sample of Chinese emerging adults (N = 376, 29.0% male) through an online survey. After a two-week interval, 105 out of 376 participants attended a re-test of the E-CEQ-C. Item analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity were analyzed.

Results

The findings from the CFA support the 24-item informed six-factor structure among Chinese emerging adults (χ2 = 699.038, RMSEA = 0.073, CFI = 0.919, TLI = 0.904, and SRMR = 0.055). Cronbach's α of the six dimensions of the E-CEQ-C were all above 0.7. The test-retest reliability coefficients of each subscale and total scale were acceptable, ranging from 0.60 to 0.81. In accordance with the literature, we also observed positive associations between the six dimensions of E-CEQ-C and the constructs of the CD-Quest-C, which provided concurrent validity evidence for the E-CEQ-C.

Conclusion

This study showed that E-CEQ-C is a psychometrically sound measure to assess exercise-related cognitive errors in Chinese-speaking populations.

Optimized short-forms of the Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire

INTRODUCTION

The Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire (CD-Quest) is a self-report questionnaire that assesses common cognitive distortions. Although the CD-Quest has excellent psychometric properties, its length may limit its use.

METHODS

We attempted to develop short-forms of the CD-Quest using RiskSLIM - a machine learning method to build short-form scales that can be scored by hand. Each short-form was fit to maximize concordance with the total CD-Quest score for a specified number of items based on an objective function, in this case R2, by selecting an optimal subset of items and an optimal set of small integer weights. The models were trained in a sample of US undergraduate students (N = 906). We then validated each short-form on five independent samples: two samples of undergraduate students in Brazil (Ns = 182, 183); patients with depression in Brazil (N = 62); patients with social anxiety disorder in the US (N = 198); and psychiatric outpatients in Turkey (N = 269).

RESULTS

A 9-item short-form with integer scoring was created that reproduced the total 15-item CD-Quest score in all validation samples with excellent accuracy (R2 = 90.4-93.6%). A 5-item ultra-short-form had good accuracy (R2 = 78.2-85.5%).

DISCUSSION

A 9-item short-form and a 5-item ultra-short-form of the CD-Quest both reproduced full CD-Quest scores with excellent to good accuracy. These shorter versions of the full CD-Quest could facilitate measurement of cognitive distortions for users with limited time and resources.

Propiedades psicométricas del Children's Negative Cognitive Error Questionnaire en población española adolescente y joven

El objetivo de este estudio era analizar las propiedades psicométricas de la versión española del Children’s Negative Cognitive Errors Questionnaire (CNCEQ) en una muestra de población joven. El CNCEQ es uno de los procedimientos de autoinforme más utilizados para medir cuatro tipos de distorsión cognitiva (pensamiento catastrófico, sobregeneralización, personalización y abstracción selectiva) en tres áreas de contenido (social, académica y deportiva). A pesar de ello, no existen estudios que analicen las propiedades del instrumento entre los jóvenes. El estudio utilizó una amplia muestra (N = 2040; entre 12 y 22 años; 50,7% hombres y 47,3% mujeres) de diferentes centros educativos. La validez de constructo se evaluó mediante un análisis factorial exploratorio, y la consistencia interna mediante el coeficiente alfa de Cronbach. También se realizaron contrastes de medias para evaluar la validez discriminante y se llevó a cabo un análisis de correlación y regresión para explorar la validez de criterio. Los resultados indican que el CNCEQ permite evaluar las distorsiones cognitivas autodegradantes entre los jóvenes con suficientes garantías psicométricas. Su uso por parte de los profesores les permitirá adaptar sus actividades para tener en cuenta la presencia de distorsiones cognitivas entre sus estudiantes.

Development and psychometric properties of the Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire for Adolescents (CD-Quest-T)

INTRODUCTION

The Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire (CD-Quest) is an instrument that identifies logical errors or cognitive distortions and is used in trial-based cognitive therapy (TBCT). However, it had previously only been available for adults.

OBJECTIVES

To develop and validate a version of the CD-Quest for teens (CD-Quest-T) aged 11 to 17 years and test its psychometric properties.

METHOD

A total of 299 schoolchildren participated in the investigation. After content validity was assessed, the language was adapted for the target age group, and the length of the instrument was reduced to eight items (from the initial 15). Five cognitive therapists analyzed the content and structure of the items. Finally, to investigate the construct validity of the CD-Quest-T, the instrument was divided into a full scale and two subscales, which measure the frequency of the distortions and the intensity attributed to them, respectively.

RESULTS

The overall internal consistency of the scale was α = 0.77, whereas subscale indices were α = 0.75 for the frequency scale and α = 0.73 for the intensity scale. Results from exploratory factor analysis and concurrent validity analysis indicated that the CD-Quest-T items have good psychometric properties and generate scores reliably.

CONCLUSION

The psychometric properties of the CD-Quest-T demonstrate its adequacy for measurement of cognitive distortions in adolescents.