Spanish version of the Thought-Action Fusion Questionnaire and its application in eating disorders

Abstract

I Jáuregui-Lobera,1,3 MA Santed-Germán,2 P Bolaños-Ríos,3 O Garrido-Casals3 1Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Engineering Department, Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain; 2Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatments Department, UNED, Madrid, Spain; 3Behavioral Sciences Institute, Seville, Spain Purpose: The aims of the study were to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Thought-Action Fusion Questionnaire (TAF-SP), as well as to determine its validity by evaluating the relationship of the TAF-SP to different instruments. Patients and methods: Two groups were studied: one comprising 146 patients with eating disorders; and another a group of 200 students. Results: Three factors were obtained: TAF–Moral; TAF–Likelihood-others; and TAF–Likelihood-oneself. The internal consistency of the TAF-SP was determined by means of Cronbach’s α coefficient, with values ranging between 0.84–0.95. The correlations with other instruments reflected adequate validity. The three-factor structure was tested by means of a linear structural equation model, and the structure fit satisfactorily. Differences in TAF-SP scores between the diagnostic subgroups were also analyzed. Conclusion: The TAF-SP meets the psychometric requirements for measuring thought-action fusion and shows adequate internal consistency and validity. Keywords: thought-action fusion, cognitive distortions, validation, eating disorders