Hopelessness as cognitive vulnerability to stress: Adaptation of the Adolescent Cognitive Style Questionnaire

In this study we adapted the Adolescents Cognitive Style Questionnaire (ACSQ; Hankin & Abramson, 2002), which assesses a vulnerability attributional style to hopelessness depression. The ACSQ was completed by 924 adolescents together with measures of depression, behavior problems and stressful events. The results confirmed the factor structure of the ACSQ, which consisted of five dimensions (internality, stability, global, consequences, and self-focused attributions). The internal consistency and test-retest coefficients were adequate for both the total scale and its subscales, except for the internality subscale. The ACSQ scores were positively associated with depressive symptoms, but not with behavior problems. Finally, we assessed whether, according to the Hopelessness Theory of Depression, hopelessness style moderated the association between stressors and symptoms. The results of a series of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the diathesis-stress effect was evident only among girls, who, in addition, scored higher on the ACSQ. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)