title: Development of the Davos assessment of cognitive biases scale (DACOBS).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cognitive problems and biases play an important role in the development and continuation of psychosis. A self-report measure of these deficits and processes was developed (Davos Assessment of Cognitive Biases Scale: DACOBS) and is evaluated in this study.
  
  
  METHODS
  An item pool made by international experts was used to develop a self-report scale on a sample of 138 schizophrenia spectrum patients. Another sample of 71 patients was recruited to validate the subscales. A group of 186 normal control subjects was recruited to establish norms and examine discriminative validity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Factor analyses resulted in seven factors, each with six items (jumping to conclusions, belief inflexibility bias, attention for threat bias, external attribution bias, social cognition problems, subjective cognitive problems and safety behavior). All factors independently explained the variance (eigenvalues>2) and total explained variance was 45%. Reliability was good (Cronbach's alpha=.90; split-half reliability=.92; test-retest reliability=.86). The DACOBS discriminates between schizophrenia spectrum patients and normal control subjects. Validity was affirmed for five of seven subscales. The scale 'Subjective Cognitive problems' was not associated with objective cognitive functioning and 'Social cognition problems' was not associated with the Hinting task, but with the scale measuring ideas of social reference.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The DACOBS scale, with seven independent subscales, is reliable and valid for use in clinical practice and research.
authors: Vu University and EMGO+ Institute for Health and Care Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.vander.gaag@vu.nl
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: van der Gaag
authors: Chantal
authors: C
authors: Schütz
authors: Angela
authors: A
authors: Ten Napel
authors: Yulia
authors: Y
authors: Landa
authors: Philippe
authors: P
authors: Delespaul
authors: Maarten
authors: M
authors: Bak
authors: Wolfgang
authors: W
authors: Tschacher
authors: Marc
authors: M
authors: de Hert
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D057566:Self Report; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012938:Social Perception; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology