DEVELOPMENT OF A CATASTROPHIC COGNITION QUESTIONNAIRE

Catastrophic cognitions are theorized to be an important construct for the development and maintenance of panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. However, there is a lack of reliable and valid self-report instruments for measuring catastrophic cognitions. This study presents the development and validation of the Catastrophic Cognition Questionnaire (CCQ) using 507 students from introductory psychology classes. Factor Analysis yielded a five-factor solution, which accounted for 54% of the total variance. The five are the Emotional, Physical, Mental, Social, and Bodily Catastrophes factors. The CCQ shows good reliability with Cronbach's Alpha for individual scales ranging from .86 to .94. The CCQ has good discriminant validity and correlates moderately with other self-report questionnaires that measure anxiety and cognitions associated with anxiety problems.