Inventory of Cognitive Distortions-Youth Version: The Development and Validation of a Psychometric Test for the Measurement of Cognitive Distortions

Cognitive distortions are systematic biases in an individual’s thinking that maintain a person’s belief in their negative views of themselves or others, even in the presence of contradictory evidence. The Inventory of Cognitive Distortions (ICD), created by Yurica and DiTomasso, provided a template to measure distorted thinking in adults. Currently, there is not a youth measure of cognitive distortions that adequately encapsulates the range of distorted thinking that may be present in youth. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to create and validate a newly designed instrument of cognitive distortions, The Inventory of Cognitive Distortions-Youth Version (ICD-YV), with youth ages 11 to 17. Participants will be recruited through social media, ResearchMatch.org, local school and community organizations and local business and university listservs. The psychometric properties (content validity, construct validity, convergent validity and internal reliability) of the ICD-YV will be assessed. Identifying a valid and reliable tool to evaluate cognitive distortions in youth is needed to facilitate better identification of these patterns of thinking and provide more accurate and targeted treatment, from a cognitive-behavioral perspective