The Children's Cognitive Triad Inventory: reliability, validity, and congruence with Beck's cognitive triad theory of depression

J Nurs Meas. 1999 Winter;7(2):101-15.

Abstract

Depression, once thought rare in children, is now more widely recognized and believed to arise from negative views of self, world, and future, according to Beck's cognitive theory of depression. The Cognitive Triad Inventory for children measures the three negative views, and although reported as psychometrically adequate, this study extended previous analyses with confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of 122 school-aged children. Internal consistency was .82 (total scale) but ranged from .54 to .76 for subscales reflecting the views of self, world, and future. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed factors reflecting three aspects of the self rather than the three negative views. The findings suggest that Beck's theory about the negative cognitive triad may be less suitable for children than adults.

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Cognition*
  • Cognitive Science / methods
  • Cognitive Science / statistics & numerical data
  • Depression / nursing
  • Depression / psychology*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interviews as Topic / methods
  • Male
  • Midwestern United States
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Suburban Population
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*