Development and Validation of the Counterfactual Thinking for Negative Events Scale

Abstract

We examined the psychometric properties of the newly created Counterfactual Thinking for Negative Events Scale (CTNES) in two studies involving university undergraduates. In Study 1 (N = 634), factor analysis revealed four subscales that correspond with various types of counterfactual thinking: Nonreferent Downward, Other-Referent Upward, Self-Referent Upward, and Nonreferent Upward. The subscales were largely orthogonal and had adequate internal consistency and test–retest reliability. The CTNES subscales were positively correlated with a traditional method of assessing counterfactual thinking and were related as expected to contextual aspects of the negative event, negative affect, and cognitive style. In Study 2 (N = 208), we further examined the validity of the scale and demonstrated that the subscales were sensitive to an experimental manipulation concerning the type of negative event participants recalled. Moreover, the CTNES subscales correlated in the expected direction with measures of coping and cognitive style.

Acknowledgments

Study 1 was presented at the 113th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC (2005, August). Study 2 was presented at the 79th Annual Convention of the Midwestern Psychological Association (2007, May). We thank the following individuals for their assistance preparing this manuscript: Amy M. Lyons, Kelly T. Wells, Kathryn Muskovich, Emily Wilson, and Eric Prager.

Notes

* p < .001.

*p < .01.

** p < .001.

¹Two other cognitive subscales, Cognitive Avoidance and Acceptance/Resignation, were excluded from analyses due to poor internal consistency (α = .63 and .56, respectively).

*p < .001.

*p < .01.

** p < .001.

²We identified several items in our original pool that could form the basis for such a scale, but our inability to validate the scale precluded presentation in this article.