Automatic thoughts and psychological symptoms : A cross-cultural comparison of American and Spanish students

This study examined the structure of automatic thoughts and relations between automatic thoughts and psychological symptoms from a cross-cultural perspective. Spanish university students (N = 437) and American university students (N = 349) completed the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Revised (ATQ-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cognitive therapy and research 2005-04, Vol.29 (2), p.201-217
Main Authors: CALVETE, Esther, CONNOR-SMITH, Jennifer K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Anxiety
Anxiety disorders. Neuroses
Biological and medical sciences
Depression
Hypotheses
Medical sciences
Mental depression
Miscellaneous
Mood disorders
Physiology
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Questionnaires
University students
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Summary:This study examined the structure of automatic thoughts and relations between automatic thoughts and psychological symptoms from a cross-cultural perspective. Spanish university students (N = 437) and American university students (N = 349) completed the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Revised (ATQ-R) and the Young Adult Self-Report. Results supported a hierarchical arrangement of cognitions in which four first-order categories of self-talk (Dissatisfaction, Negative Self-Concept, Inability to Cope, and Positive Thoughts) were encompassed by two broad factors of Positive and Negative Self-Talk. The pattern of associations between automatic thoughts and symptoms of anxiety, depression, and externalizing problems supported both the cognitive content-specificity theory and the tripartite model of anxiety and depression. Multiple group covariance structure analysis showed that the structure of the ATQ-R and relations between the ATQ-R and symptoms were comparable in both groups, suggesting that the nature of automatic thoughts is similar across Western cultures.
ISSN:0147-5916
1573-2819
DOI:10.1007/s10608-005-3165-2