Psychometric Properties of an Interpretation Bias Scale for Depressed Mood in Iranian Society: The Ambiguous Scenarios Test

According to various cognitive models of emotional disorders, anxious and depressed individuals always give priority to negative information rather than positive and neutral ones. Moreover, tests and treatments designed to modify interpretation bias take advantage of limited tools developed in this respect. The Ambiguous Scenarios Test (AST) is also a pragmatic one to measure interpretation bias in clinical situations. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Ambiguous Scenarios Test (AST) in Iranian society and formulate it for application in research on interpretation bias relevant to depression. To this end, a total number of 240 university students (61 boys and 179 girls) enrolled at the University of Hormozgan were selected using simple random sampling method. The psychometric properties of the test were similarly examined using exploratory factor analysis, ROC curve, test-retest method with two-week interval, calculation of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, correlation with mood states, diagnosis of people with high and low moods, and correlation with scores of the Dysfunctional Thoughts Scale. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the entire test and the correlation coefficient for the test-retest method with two-week interval were 0.78 and 0.72; respectively. The correlation between the given test and the Dysfunctional Thoughts Scale was equal to -0.57 and the correlation coefficient between group membership and the Ambiguous Scenarios Test (AST) was 0.38. Overall, the results showed that the given test was endowed with proper internal consistency, validity, and reliability and it could also distinguish individuals with negative interpretation bias from those with positive one.