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

• 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
• ISSN: 0147-5916; 1573-2819
• DOI: 10.1007/s10608-005-3165-2

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.