Abstract
Three studies investigated the psychometric properties of the adaptation to Portuguese of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale for Children, a self-report instrument that assesses components of cognitive vulnerability to depression in young people. Children and adolescents (n = 596; 9 to 16 years) completed the scale and other cognitions assessment tools and depressive symptoms. There were found good internal consistency indices for the instrument, and moderate to week correlations between the Disfunctional Attitude Scale of Children in the test-retest reliability (n = 225; mean interval of 8.3 months) and with the other instruments. Exploratory (n = 218) and confirmatory (n = 378) factor analysis showed a three factor structure. The results indicate that Dysfunctional Attitude Scale for Children is a suitable measurement of dysfunctional attitudes in young people.
Keywords
Adolescents; Dysfunctional attitude; Cognition; Children; Depression; Scale