PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE POSITIVE AUTOMATIC THOUGHTS QUESTIONNAIRE

The Positive Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ-P) was designed to assess the frequency of positive self-statements. This article reports original data and reviews other studies that have used the ATQ-P. The se data show that the reliability and the norms of the ATQ-P appear st able and that the ATQ-P is inversely associated with negative affectiv e states but unrelated to conditions such as medical condition not acc ompanied by psychological distress. The ATQ-P also shows adequate conv ergent and discriminate validity. Data also show that the ATQ-P confor ms to theoretical predictions of the states-of-mind model. Finally, th ese data show that the ATQ-P is sensitive to cognitive changes. In sum , the results suggest that the ATQ-P is an effective measure of positi ve self-statement frequency.