Overview
The CFQ is designed as a brief measure of how much an individual's thoughts dominate their awareness and influence their behaviour (e.g., struggling to let go of upsetting thoughts, or over-analyzing situations to the point of distress. Originally developed for adults, the CFQ has been validated in adolescents aged 11-17 years.Scoring & Interpretation
The CFQ includes 7 items scored using a 7-point Likert scale. Scores range from 1 (Never true to 7 Always true and have a range of 7 to 49. A total score is calculated by summing the item scores Higher scores indicate greater cognitive fusion. Scores below 20 indicate greater defusion - the ability to observe thoughts without being overwhelmed by them or feeling the need to act on them. In research a score of 24 or higher is used as an impact on daily functioning and mental wellbeing.Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency
Internal consistency was run using Cronbach alpha and ranges from acceptable (⍺ = .79 adolescents: Sole et al., 2016) to good (⍺ = .90 Gillander et al., 2014).
Test-Retest Reliability
Test-retest over 4 weeks in a community sample (Mean T1: 19.38 [SD = 8.41], Mean T2: 18.49 [SD = 8.87], r = .81, p < .001).
Factor Structure
The original development work (Gillanders et al., 2014) used EFA and CFA to establish a unidimensional structure.
Validity
The CFQ correlated highly and in predicted directions with measures of psychological inflexibility, mindfulness, rumination, distress, burn-out, and frequency of automatic thoughts. The CFQ also showed moderate correlations with measures of quality of life and life satisfaction, and showed small yet significant correlations with positive beliefs about rumination, use of thought control strategies and with successful valued living. The CFQ did not correlate significantly with socially desirable responding, indicating preliminary divergent validity.
Measurement Invariance
Configural Invariance in adult clinical and non-clinical groups (Gillander et al., 2014).