Assessing transdiagnostic intrusive thoughts: Factor structure, reliability and validity of the Cognitive Intrusions Questionnaire-Transdiagnostic version in a Spanish sample

•The CIQ-TV was developed to assess intrusive thoughts across a range of disorders.•Psychometric evaluation of the CIQ-TV needed a novel method.•Both transdiagnostic and specific components had a sound factor structure.•Most components had appropriate internal consistency and test-retest reliability.•Most components showed good criterion validity in relation to psychopathology.

Intrusive thoughts are typical symptoms of anxiety-related, mood and psychotic disorders. Freeston, Ladouceur, Thibodeau, and Gagnon (1991) developed the Cognitive Intrusions Questionnaire to address the features and processing of intrusive thoughts regardless of the theoretically related disorder. This study aims to assess the psychometric properties of a revised 79-item transdiagnostic version of the Cognitive Intrusions Questionnaire (CIQ-TV). A sample of 350 Spanish undergraduate students (mean age 21.68; 78.5% female) was used to assess its factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and criterion validity. Given the range of characteristics assesses questionnaire, the psychometric properties was studied on groups of ideas based on the components of a general appraisal model (intrusiveness, appraisals, emotions and strategies).The CIQ-TV has a clear factor structure, internal consistency and test-retest reliability, except in the case of generalized anxiety disorder appraisals and thought-focused strategies. Criterion validity was good for obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression appraisals and appropriate for generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety appraisals.In summary, the results of this study showed that the CIQ-TV is a good measure for assessing intrusive thoughts and their associated processes.