Related Experiment Videos
The Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire: validation of the English translation
Kathryn A Sexton1, Michel J Dugas
1Concordia University, Department of Psychology, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, L-PY-170, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4B 1R6. kasexton@alcor.concordia.ca
Journal of Anxiety Disorders
|June 5, 2007
Summary
The Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ) demonstrates good reliability and validity for assessing worry-related strategies. Its subscales show promise, though further validation is needed for nuanced understanding of coping styles.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Cognitive avoidance strategies play a role in managing worry.
- The Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (CAQ) was developed to measure these strategies.
- Understanding these strategies is crucial for therapeutic interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the psychometric properties of the English translation of the CAQ.
- To assess the internal consistency, stability, and validity of the CAQ.
- To examine the relationship between cognitive avoidance and coping styles.
Main Methods:
- Administered the CAQ to 456 undergraduate students.
- Conducted confirmatory factor analysis.
- Assessed convergent and divergent validity with measures of worry, thought suppression, and coping styles.
Main Results:
- The CAQ and its subscales exhibited good to excellent internal consistency and stability.
- Confirmatory factor analysis supported the proposed subscales, with acceptable fit.
- Preliminary evidence for convergent and divergent validity was found.
- The CAQ's correlation with coping styles varied based on situational controllability.
Conclusions:
- The CAQ is a reliable and valid measure of cognitive avoidance strategies.
- The findings support the use of the CAQ in research and clinical settings.
- Context-dependent relationships between cognitive avoidance and coping styles were highlighted.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Lazarus's Cognitive Appraisal Theory
Cognitive psychologist Richard Lazarus proposed the cognitive-mediational theory of emotions, which emphasizes how individuals' assessments of stressors significantly affect their experience of stress. According to Lazarus, the stress response is determined by a two-step appraisal process: primary appraisal and secondary appraisal. These cognitive appraisals help individuals evaluate the potential impact of a stressor and determine the adequacy of their coping resources.
Primary Appraisal:...
Primary Appraisal:...
01:29Reliability and Validity
Reliability and validity are two important considerations that must be made with any type of data collection. Reliability refers to the ability to consistently produce a given result. In the context of psychological research, this would mean that any instruments or tools used to collect data do so in consistent, reproducible ways.
01:22Self-Report Tests of Personality
Self-report inventories are objective personality assessments that use multiple-choice items or numbered scales, typically ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). They are often called Likert scales after Rensis Likert. These inventories are widely used due to their ease of administration and cost-effectiveness. One of the most prominent examples is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), initially developed in the 1940s to assess abnormal personality traits.
01:29Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model
The Self-Evaluation Maintenance (SEM) model offers a psychological framework to understand how individuals’ self-esteem is influenced by the achievements of others, particularly those with whom they share close personal bonds. The SEM model operates when personal rather than social identity guides individuals. Central to this model is the notion that individuals have an inherent desire to preserve a favorable self-image, which is continuously shaped by interpersonal comparisons and...
01:25Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive therapy, pioneered by Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s, is a structured approach to addressing psychological distress by focusing on the influence of thoughts on emotions and behaviors. All cognitive therapies involve the basic assumption that human beings have control over their feelings, and that how individuals feel about something depends on how they think about it. Unlike psychoanalytic methods that delve into unconscious processes or humanistic approaches emphasizing...
01:29The Influence of Cognition on Affect
Cognition plays a pivotal role in shaping emotional experiences, as demonstrated by Schachter and Singer’s two-factor theory of emotion. According to this model, emotion arises from a combination of physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation. The body’s physiological response to stimuli is ambiguous and only gains emotional significance through cognitive labeling. For instance, an increased heart rate and adrenaline surge while standing near an attractive person may be interpreted as...