نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
نویسندگان
1 استادیار گروه روانشناسی بالینی، دانشگاه گلستان، گرگان، ایران.
2 استادیار گروه روانشناسی، واحد بندر گز، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، بندر گز، ایران.
چکیده
کلیدواژهها
عنوان مقاله [English]
نویسندگان [English]
Introduction: Negative automatic thoughts play a crucial role in childhood psychiatric disorders. It is essential to develop and validate an effective tool for assessing automatic thoughts in children. The aim of the present study is to investigate the psychometric properties of the Children’s Automatic Thoughts Scale (CATS) in children aged 10 to 16 years in Golestan Province.
Method: This study employed a survey methodology. The research sample consisted of 453 children aged 10 to 16 in Golestan Province, selected through a multistage cluster random sampling method. Participants were evaluated using the CATS, RCAMS, CDI, and YSR assessments. Finally, the data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, Cronbach's alpha, and factor analysis.
Results: The results of the exploratory factor analysis of the CATS items revealed a four-factor structure. Cronbach's alpha values ranged from 0.70 to 0.86, and the test-retest reliability coefficients, measured over a 14-day interval, ranged from 0.68 to 0.83. Convergent validity was established by calculating the significant correlations between the total CATS score and its four subscales, as well as with the subscales of the YSR, RCAMS, and CDI
(p < 0.01).
Discussion and conclusion: The Persian version of CATS appears to have satisfactory psychometric properties and can be utilized in educational, clinical, and research settings.
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Negative automatic thoughts are believed to play a significant role in the development and maintenance of psychological symptoms in children and adolescents, and these associations are expected to be relatively specific. Substantial evidence has shown that interventions designed to modify these negative beliefs, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), are effective in managing emotional disorders like anxiety and depression in this population. However, not all children respond optimally to CBT. Gaining a deeper understanding of the pathological mechanisms and cognitive structures that underlie emotional distress is crucial for improving the effectiveness of cognitive treatments. A necessary prerequisite for this research is the development of validated measures in the appropriate language. Several well-established and validated measures of emotional and behavioral symptoms among children and adolescents have been translated and validated for use in Iran. For example, the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS), Child Depression Inventory (CDI), Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), Youth Self-Report (YSR), and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) have been validated for use in Iranian children and adolescents. However, to date, translations have primarily focused on symptoms, and there are currently no validated translations that assess negative automatic thoughts in Iranian children and adolescents. For this reason, our study examined the psychometric properties of the Children’s Automatic Thoughts Scale (CATS) in children aged 10 to 16 years in Golestan Province.
Method
This study was applied in purpose and descriptive in implementation method. The research population consisted of children aged 10 to 16 years in Golestan Province, from which 453 individuals were selected using a multistage cluster random sampling method. In this sampling approach, six cities in Golestan Province—Gorgan, Bandargaz, Gomishan, Gonbad, Aliabad, and Azadshahr—were randomly chosen. Subsequently, four schools were randomly selected from each city, comprising two elementary schools and two junior high schools (one for boys and one for girls). In total, 24 schools (12 elementary and 12 junior high schools) were included in the study, and approximately 20 students were selected from each school as participants, resulting in a total of 480 participants. Among the participants, 27 students were excluded due to their unwillingness to participate or for submitting incomplete questionnaires. After selecting the topic and explaining the research objectives, the researchers secured their participation and cooperation. They provided a written consent form at the beginning of the questionnaire and obtained both written and verbal consent from the participants. Subsequently, the questionnaires were distributed to the participants. The research instruments utilized in this study included the Children’s Automatic Thoughts Scale, the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, the Child Depression Inventory, and the Achenbach Youth Self-Report. Finally, the data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, Cronbach's alpha, and exploratory factor analysis. SPSS version 26 statistical software was utilized to classify, process, and analyze the data, as well as to examine the research hypotheses.
Results
The average age and standard deviation for boys and girls in this study were 14.03 (SD = 1.18) years and 14.24 (SD = 1.12) years, respectively. An exploratory factor analysis of the items on the Children’s Automatic Thoughts Scale revealed a four-factor structure, which included Physical Threat, Social Threat, Personal Failure, and Hostility.
The factor loadings of the items in the four-factor model were higher than 0.56, and these four factors collectively explained 83.56% of the total variance in the Children’s Automatic Thoughts Scale. Additionally, the subscales of the Children’s Automatic Thoughts Scale demonstrated positive and significant correlations with the total score (p < 0.01).
This finding provides additional evidence for the construct validity of the scale. Correlations were calculated between the total score of the Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale (CATS), the CATS subscale scores, and measures of anxiety (the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale), depression (the Child Depression Inventory), and Achenbach youth self-report subscales. The correlations between anxiety and depression, as well as the Internalizing and Externalizing subscales in the Achenbach youth self-report, and the total score and subscales of the CATS were significant and ranged from moderate to strong. This supports the convergent validity of the CATS. In addition, the convergent validity of the Children’s Automatic Thoughts Scale—specifically, the subscales for Physical Threat, Social Threat, Personal Failure, and Hostility—was found to be significant when compared to the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, the Child Depression Inventory, and the Achenbach Youth Self-Report (P < 0.001). The reliability of the factors mentioned in the entire sample, as well as for boys and girls, was assessed using Cronbach's alpha method. The results were as follows: 0.703 for the overall sample, 0.713 for boys, and 0.771 for girls regarding personal failure; 0.75 for the overall sample, 0.71 for boys, and 0.71 for girls concerning social threat; 0.78 for the overall sample, 0.70 for boys, and 0.81 for girls related to physical threat; 0.79 for the overall sample, 0.77 for boys, and 0.81 for girls in terms of hostile thoughts; and finally, 0.86 for the overall sample, 0.75 for boys, and 0.80 for girls on the overall score of the Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale. These results indicate excellent internal consistency. The test-retest reliability of the Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale was assessed by calculating Pearson correlations between scores at Time 1 and Time 2. The test-retest reliability for the overall Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale was excellent (r = 0.83), while the reliability for all subscales was rated as good to excellent: physical threat (r = 0.68), social threat (r = 0.71), personal failure (r = 0.79), and hostility (r = 0.77).
Conclusion
An instrument designed to measure a construct must effectively assess the significant underlying factors within the theoretical framework of that construct while also demonstrating a strong correlation with other related scales. Therefore, this research investigates the psychometric properties of the Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale using a sample of children aged 10 to 16 years in Golestan Province. Additionally, it examines the scale's convergent validity with three other instruments: the Child Depression Inventory, the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale, and the Achenbach Youth Self-Report subscales. The findings of this research indicated that the Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale comprises four factors: Physical Threat, Social Threat, Personal Failure, and Hostility. The psychometric indices for these factors were assessed as appropriate and desirable. These results align with the research conducted by the instrument's creators, Schniering and Rapee (14, 28), as well as its standardizers, Schniering and Lyneham (29), Hogendoorn et al. (32), and Cecen (50). The Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale is a valuable tool for health professionals and therapists to measure negative automatic thoughts associated with emotional disorders. This scale can help identify the underlying mechanisms of these disorders in children and adolescents, allowing for timely interventions before their issues escalate into more severe problems. The final practical suggestion is for therapists, counselors, and psychologists to utilize the Children's Automatic Thoughts Scale to identify and diagnose negative automatic thoughts in children and adolescents.
Ethical Considerations
Compliance with Ethical Guidelines: All principles of research ethics have been upheld in this study, including obtaining informed consent from participants, ensuring the confidentiality of information and granting the right to withdraw from the research.
Funding: The study was conducted with the funding of Golestan University.
Authors’ Contribution: Authors have participated in the design, implementation and writing of all sections of the present study.
The author was solely responsible for the conception, design, data collection, analysis, and manuscript preparation. The author reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript
Conflict of Interest: The authors declared no conflict of interest in this article.
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