Psychometric properties of the "How I think" questionnaire to measure cognitive distortions in Iranian students

The aim of this study was to investigate the validity, reliability and factor structure of the "How I Think" questionnaire to assess cognitive distortions in Iranian students. The present research design is descriptive and psychometric studies. The statistical population of this study included all male high school students in city Dezful in the academic year 1399-1400, from which 316 students were selected by multi-stage random sampling and completed the How I think and Bass and Perry Aggression Questionnaires (for Convergent validity). Factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha and Pearson correlation were used to analyze the data using SPSS and AMOS 20 software. The results of factor analysis showed that the questionnaire consists of six factors and has good fit indices. The convergent validity of this questionnaire indicated a satisfactory correlation between the dimensions of the scale "How I think" with the Aggression Questionnaire (p <0.01). Cronbach's alpha and Split- half coefficients for the whole scale and its dimensions ranged from 0.66 to 0.92.The conclusion is that the Persian version of the "How do I think" questionnaire for measuring cognitive distortions in Iranian students has acceptable psychometric properties and can be used as a valid tool in research, educational and clinical situations.