title: The cognitive fusion questionnaire: a preliminary study of psychometric properties and prediction of functioning in chronic pain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and the psychological flexibility model on which it is based are growing interests for those researching and treating chronic pain. One part of this model is a therapeutic process called cognitive defusion. Cognitive defusion is a process of experiencing a distinction between thoughts and the events or people they describe. This process is intended to reduce the dominating psychological influence of thoughts without necessarily changing the content or frequency of the thoughts. There are recently developed measures of this process but little study of it in people with chronic pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study explored the reliability and validity of the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ) within a chronic pain population. A total of 326 adults with chronic pain completed this measure and a set of other standard clinical measures at the start of treatment in a specialty chronic pain service in the United Kingdom.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An exploratory factor analysis revealed an interpretable 2-factor structure within the items of the CFQ. Internal consistency reliability was good (α=0.87). In the analyses of validity the CFQ significantly correlated with general psychological acceptance and pain-related acceptance as expected. In multiple regression analyses, which included relevant patient background variables, pain, and acceptance of pain, cognitive fusion contributed significantly to the explained variance in the prediction of 5 of 6 dependent variables tested.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CFQ may be a useful measure for further research and treatment development.
authors.affiliation: *Input Pain Management Centre, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust †Health Psychology Section, Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London, UK.
authors.forename: Lance M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: McCracken
authors.forename: Philomena
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: DaSilva
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Skillicorn
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Doherty
mesh_terms: D064869:Acceptance and Commitment Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013850:Thinking; D006113:United Kingdom; D055815:Young Adult