Validation of the Adolescent Meta-cognition Questionnaire Version

Background: The role and importance of meta-cognitive beliefs in creating and retaining of anxiety disorders were explained initially in meta-cognitive theory. The purpose of this study was to validate the Meta-cognitions Questionnaire-Adolescent version (MCQ-A) in normal Iranian people and compare of meta-cognitive beliefs between adolescents with anxiety disorders and normal individuals.

Materials and Method: This was a standardized study. First of all, the original version was translated into Persian then administered to 204 (101 boys and 103 girls) adolescent aged 13 through 17 years. Theyhave been clustered randomly. They were selected from the schools of Isfahan, together with mood and feelings questionnaire and revised children's manifest anxiety scale. In order to assess reliability, method of internal consistency (Chronbach’s alpha and split-half coefficient) was used, and also in order to assess validity, convergent validity, criterion validity and confirmatory factor analysis were used.

Results: The results of correlation coefficient of convergent validity showed a relation between total score of (MCQ-A) and its components with anxiety and depression except cognitive self-consciousness. Data were indicative of appropriate level of Coranbach’s alpha and split-half reliability coefficients of the MCQ-A and extracted factors. The results of factor analysis by principle components analysis and using varimax rotation showed 5 factors that account for 0.45% of the variance.

Conclusion: MCQ-A has satisfactory psychometric properties in Iranian people. [ZJRMS, 2012 14(1): 29-36]