Psychometric Validation of the Slovenian Version of the Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale (CATS)

It is hypothesized that cognitions influence the development of affective disorders. Depression and anxiety are prevalent in both adults and youth. The Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale (CATS) assesses internalizing and externalizing negative automatic thoughts in children and adolescents. This study examined the psychometric properties- including factor structure, internal consistency and convergent validity- of the Slovenian version of CATS in a normative school sample (N = 754) of Slovenian adolescents aged 10 to 18. Additionally, the short-term stability of negative automatic thoughts over a three-month period was assessed in a subsample of 117 participants. Confirmatory factor analysis showed the best fit for the bifactor model, with one general and four specific factors (CFI = 0.963, TLI = 0.958, RMSEA = 0.045). Cronbach's α and McDonald's ω ranged from 0.81 to 0.96 for the total scale and subscales. The total score and subscales correlated significantly with the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale. The Slovenian version of CATS shows good psychometric properties in the school sample.