title: Development and validation of 26-item dysfunctional attitude scale.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dysfunctional Attitude Scale is one of the most common instruments used to assess cognitive vulnerability. This study aimed to develop and validate a short form of Dysfunctional Attitude Scale appropriate for an Iranian clinical population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 160 psychiatric patients from medical centers affiliated with Isfahan Medical University, as well as 160 non-patients. Research instruments were clinical interviews based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-IV-TR, Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and General Heath Questionnaire (GHQ-28). Data was analyzed using multicorrelation calculations and factor analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Based on the results of factor analysis and item-total correlation, 14 items were judged candidates for omission. Analysis of the 26-item Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS-26) revealed a Cronbach's alpha of 0.92. Evidence for the concurrent criterion validity was obtained through calculating the correlation between the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale and psychiatric diagnosis (r = 0.55), GHQ -28 (r = 0.56) and somatization, anxiety, social dysfunction, and depression subscales (0.45,0.53,0.48, and 0.57, respectively). Factor analysis deemed a four-factor structure the best. The factors were labeled as success-perfectionism, need for approval, need for satisfying others, and vulnerability-performance evaluation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results showed that the Iranian version of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS-26) bears satisfactory psychometric properties suggesting that this cognitive instrument is appropriate for use in an Iranian cultural context.
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Amrollah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ebrahimi
authors.forename: Rahele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Samouei
authors.forename: Sayyed Ghafour
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Mousavii
authors.forename: Ali Reza
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Bornamanesh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: dysfunctional attitude scale; factor structure; reliability; validity