Development and validation of the revised Children's Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale

Abstract

The primary goals of the current study were to examine (a) the factor structure and reliability of the Children's Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (CDAS) in a sample of children and early adolescents and (b) the reliability of the factor structure in two additional independent samples at different developmental stages. In Phase 1, we conducted a factor analysis using maximum likelihood factor extraction and promax rotation to explore the underlying structure of the 40-item CDAS. In Phase 2, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis on the factors obtained in Phase 1. In Phase 1, 140 children (ages 6-14) of affectively ill parents completed the CDAS and measures assessing depressive symptoms, coping strategies, and cognitive-interpersonal vulnerability factors. In Phase 2, 130 third grade children and 184 seventh grade schoolchildren completed similar measures. In Phase 1, a two-factor solution was obtained: (1) Self-critical Perfectionism (SCP) and (2) Personal Standards Perfectionism (PSP). In Phase 2, a two-factor solution provided a significantly better fit than a one-factor solution in both grades. The two factors obtained exhibited high internal consistency in both our high-risk and community samples. Additionally, in both samples, SCP was more strongly associated with depressive symptoms, maladaptive coping strategies, and impaired interpersonal relationships than was PSP. The results of the current study suggest that dysfunctional attitudes cluster into SCP and PSP in children as well as early adolescents. Further, SCP may have a more deleterious impact on children's psychosocial functioning as compared to PSP.