Overview
The MCQ-A is a 30-item measure of meta-cognitive beliefs (beliefs about thinking and thinking processes). The MCQ-A is an adaption of the Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire (MCQ-30, Cartwright-Hatton & Wells, 1997).Scoring & Interpretation
Respondents indicate their agreement with each of the 30 statements on a 4-point scale from "do not agree" to "agree very much". There are five subscales: 1: positive beliefs; factor 2: uncontrollability and danger; factor 3: cognitive confidence; factor 4: superstition, punishment and responsibility; and factor 5: cognitive self-consciousness. Subscale scores are calculated by summing the scores for each item within the subscale.Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency
Coefficients for Cronbach's alpha for all five subscales, as well as the overall scale, were in the range of acceptable or higher (between .66 and .88).
Test-Retest Reliability
Aside from subscale 2, All subscales were shown to be stable over time (intraclass correlations ranging between .77 and .90) with the exception of subscale 2 (.24)
Factor Structure
Principal components analysis identified a 5-factor solution, accounting for 55.8% of variance.
Validity
Structural Validity
Factor analysis indicated a 5-factor solution, accounting for 55.8% of variance.
Convergent Validity
The MCQ-A whole scale and subscale scores had statistically significant positive correlations with measures of anxiety, depression and obsessional symptoms.