Development and validation of the Multidimensional Cognitive Attentional Syndrome Scale (MCASS)

The cognitive attentional syndrome (CAS), a multidimensional construct that consists of maladaptive forms of self-regulation, is central to the metacognitive model. Despite the CAS's central importance to the metacognitive model, as well as evidence that components of the CAS are risk factors for the development of emotional disorders, a psychometrically sound self-report measure that accounts for the multidimensional nature of the CAS has yet to be developed. The present set of studies details the development and initial validation of the Multidimensional Cognitive Attentional Syndrome Scale (MCASS). In study 1, a pool of 69 items, assessing the seven self-regulation strategies of the CAS, was administered to U.S. adults recruited through a crowd-sourcing website (N = 323). Structural analyses supported the proposed 7-factor solution and three items with the highest loadings on each factor, without salient cross-loadings, were retained. In Study 2, adult participants (N = 389) completed a battery of self-report measures, including the retained 21 MCASS items. The reduced item pool was examined using both first- and second-order measurement models. The 7-factor first-order measurement model and the second-order measurement model, with each of the first-order factors loading on a higher-order construct (i.e., CAS), provided adequate model fit. Each of the seven, first-order factors exhibited significant loadings on the second-order construct. Convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity analyses further supported the construct validity of the MCASS scale scores. The MCASS may be particularly useful for examining the theoretical underpinnings of the metacognitive model, as well as for more comprehensive clinical monitoring of the CAS. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).