Persistent and Intrusive Negative Thoughts Scale (PINTS)

Overview

The Persistent and Intrusive Negative Thoughts Scale (PINTS) is a 5-item measure designed to be disorder-neutral and tap into the three core characteristics of maladaptive repetitive negative thought, as proposed by Ehring et al. (2011, p. 226). The PINT is designed to be suitable for both children and adults.

Scoring & Interpretation

Respondents are instructed to rate the frequency with which “each of these things happen to you when you experience a problem” on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (never) to 5 (almost always). Scores are summed to create a total score ranging from 5 to 25. Higher scores indicate greater repetitive negative thinking. In the original development paper, mean scores were calculated if responses on at least three of the five items were present.

Psychometric Properties

Internal Consistency

The five-item PINTS measure demonstrated good internal consistency (⍺ .86; ⍵ .90).

Test-Retest Reliability

Children aged 13 repeated the measure 2-3 weeks after initial completion. the test-retest correlation for the PINTS mean scores was both significant and acceptable (r =.71; p< .001). Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1; ICC3,1) at Time 1 and Time 2 found that the level of absolute agreement between the two time waves was moderate to good (ICC .82; 95% CI [.70, .89]).

Factor Structure

The CFA results showed that the one-factor model provided a good fit to the data: CFI, TLI , RMSEA & SRMR were all good. All factor loading were significant (.64-.82, p<.001).

Validity

The PINTS had moderate positive and significant (all ps <.001) correlations with symptom levels of depression (r = .36), generalized anxiety (r = .55), social anxiety (r = .47), separation anxiety (r = .41), and disordered eating (r = .27). The PINTS was also significantly and positively associated with social isolation at school (r = .44) and negatively related to levels of belonging (r = -.32) and life satisfaction (r = -.34). Results revealed nonsignificant associations with the two adaptive coping styles, active problem-solving (r = -.03, p = .464) and social support seeking (r = -.05, p = .295) A moderate positive association (r =.42, p<.0001) was found between the PINTS and the maladaptive coping style problem avoidance. Demonstrating convergent and divergent validity.

Measurement Invariance

Full measurement invariance across gender was supported.

Access

Full details of items and instructions in original paper - no specific licence instructions. No location for the measure has been provided.

Citation

Magson, N. R., Rapee, R. M., Fardouly, J., Forbes, M. K., Richardson, C. E., Johnco, C. J., & Oar, E. L. (2019). Measuring Repetitive Negative Thinking: Development and Validation of the Persistent and Intrusive Negative Thoughts Scale (PINTS). Psychological Assessment. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pas0000755