Exploratory Factor Analysis of the contents and styles of irrational thoughts assessed by "The Attitudes and Beliefs Inventory"

Abstract

The factor structure of a back translated Spanish version (Lega, Caballo and Ellis, 2002) of the Attitudes and Beliefs Inventory (ABI) (Burgess, 1990) is analyzed in a sample of 250 university students. The Spanish version of the ABI is a 48-items self-report inventory using a 5-point Likert scale that assesses rational and irrational attitudes and beliefs. 24-items cover two dimensions of irrationality: a) areas of content (3 subscales), and b) styles of thinking (4 subscales). An Exploratory Factor Analysis (Parallel Analysis with Unweighted Least Squares method and Promin rotation) was performed with the FACTOR 9.20 software (Lorenzo-Seva and Ferrando, 2013). The results reproduced the main four styles of irrational thinking in relation with the three specific contents of irrational beliefs. However, two factors showed a complex configuration with important cross-loadings of different items in content and style. More analyses are needed to review the specific content and style of such items.