A 44-item version of the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire (OBQ-44) put forward by the Obsessive Compulsive Cognitions Working Group remains the most widely used version of the OBQ, despite research casting doubt on its factorial validity and the existence of a short form (i.e., OBQ-20). In a large sample of undergraduate students (n = 1,210), a bifactor model of the OBQ-20, consisting of a general factor and four specific factors (threat, responsibility, importance/control of thoughts, perfectionism/certainty), was supported as the best-fitting model. None of the examined OBQ-44 models provided adequate fit. The bifactor model of the OBQ-20 was retained in two independent samples (n = 1,342 community adults, n = 319 undergraduate students). The incremental validity of the specific factors of the OBQ-20 beyond the general factor was evidenced across multiple criterion indices, including obsessive–compulsive symptom measures and reactions to a thought-induction task. Results further support use of the OBQ-20.
AardemaF.O’ConnorK. P.DelormeM.AudetJ. (2017). The inference-based approach (IBA) to the treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorder: An open trial across symptom subtypes and treatment-resistant cases. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 24, 289-301.
2.
AbramowitzJ. S.DeaconB. J.OlatunjiB. O.WheatonM. G.BermanN. C.LosardoD.. . . HaleL. R. (2010). Assessment of obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions: Development and evaluation of the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. Psychological Assessment, 22, 180-198.
3.
AbramowitzJ. S.FabricantL. E.TaylorS.DeaconB. J.McKayD.StorchE. A. (2014). The relevance of analogue studies for understanding obsessions and compulsions. Clinical Psychology Review, 34, 206-217.
4.
AbramowitzJ. S.KhandkerM.NelsonC. A.DeaconB. J.RygwallR. (2006). The role of cognitive factors in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive symptoms: A prospective study. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44, 1361-1374.
5.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
6.
AnderssonE.LjótssonB.HedmanE.HesserH.EnanderJ.KaldoV.. . . RückC. (2015). Testing the mediating effects of obsessive beliefs in Internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: Results from a randomized controlled trial. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 22, 722-732.
BaileyB. E.WuK. D.ValentinerD. P.McGrathP. B. (2014). Thought-action fusion: Structure and specificity to OCD. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 3, 39-45.
9.
BermanN. C.AbramowitzJ. S.WheatonM. G.PardueC.FabricantL. E. (2011). Evaluation of an in vivo measure of thought-action fusion. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 25, 155-164.
10.
BonifayW.CaiL. (2017). On the complexity of item response theory models. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 52, 465-484.
11.
BonifayW.LaneS. P.ReiseS. P. (2017). Three concerns with applying a bifactor model as a structure of psychopathology. Clinical Psychological Science, 5, 184-186.
12.
BragdonL. B.ColesM. E. (2017). Examining heterogeneity of obsessive-compulsive disorder: Evidence for subgroups based on motivations. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 45, 64-71.
13.
BrownT. A. (2015). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford.
14.
BuhrmesterM.KwangT.GoslingS. D. (2011). Amazon’s Mechanical Turk: A new source of inexpensive, yet high-quality, data?Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6, 3-5.
15.
CarletonR. N.NortonP. J.AsmundsonG. J. G. (2007). Fearing the unknown: A short version of the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21, 105-117.
16.
ChandlerJ.ShapiroD. (2016). Conducting clinical research using crowdsourced convenience samples. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 12, 53-81.
17.
ChenF. F.WestS. G.SousaK. H. (2006). A comparison of bifactor and second-order models of quality of life. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 41, 189-225.
18.
CheungC. W.RensvoldR. B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling, 9, 233-255.
19.
ClarkD. A. (2004). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD. New York, NY: Guilford.
20.
ClarkD. A.AbramowitzJ. S.AlcoladoG. M.AlonsoP.BellochA.BouvardM.. . . WongW. (2014). Part 3: A question of perspective: The association between intrusive thoughts and obsessionality in 11 countries. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 3, 292-299.
21.
ColesM. E.CookL. M.BlakeT. R. (2006). Assessing obsessive compulsive symptoms and cognitions on the Internet: Evidence for the comparability of paper and Internet administration. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 2232-2240.
22.
CougleJ. R.LeeH. J. (2014). Pathological and non-pathological features of obsessive-compulsive disorder: Revisiting basic assumptions of cognitive models. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 3, 12-20.
23.
De PutterL. M. S.Van YperL.KosterE. M. H. (2017). Obsessions and compulsions in the lab: A meta-analysis of procedures to induce symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Clinical Psychology Review, 52, 137-147.
24.
DeVellisR. F. (2017). Scale development: Theory and applications (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
25.
DueberD. M. (2017). Bifactor Indices Calculator: A Microsoft Excel-based tool to calculate various indices relevant to bifactor CFA models. Retrieved from http://sites.education.uky.edu/apslab/resources
26.
FergusT. A.CarminC. N. (2014). The validity and specificity of the short-form of the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire (OBQ). Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 36, 318-328.
FoaE. B.HuppertJ. D.LeibergS.LangnerR.KichicR.HajcakG.SalkovskisP. M. (2002). The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory: Development and validation of a short version. Psychological Assessment, 14, 485-496.
29.
GomezR.McLarenS. (2015). The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale: Support for a bifactor model with a dominant general factor and a specific factor for positive affect. Assessment, 22, 351-360.
30.
HajcakG.HuppertJ. D.SimonsR. F.FoaE. B. (2004). Psychometric properties of the OCI-R in a college sample. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42, 115-123.
31.
HewittP. L.FlettG. L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 456-470.
32.
HezelD. M.McNallyR. J. (2016). A theoretical review of cognitive biases and deficits in obsessive–compulsive disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 121, 221-232.
33.
HuL. T.BentlerP. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1-55.
34.
JacobyR. J.LeonardR. C.RiemannB. C.AbramowitzJ. S. (2016). Self-punishment as a maladaptive thought control strategy mediates the relationship between beliefs about thoughts and repugnant obsessions. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 40, 179-187.
35.
JulienD.O’ConnorK. P.AardemaF.TodorovC. (2006). The specificity of belief domains in obsessive–compulsive disorder. Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 1205-1216.
36.
KlineR. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford.
37.
ManciniF.GangemiA. (2004). Fear of guilt from behaving irresponsibly in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 35, 109-120.
38.
MouldingR.AnglimJ.NedeljkovicM.DoronG.KyriosM.AyalonA. (2011). The Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire (OBQ): Examination in nonclinical samples and development of a short version. Assessment, 18, 357-374.
39.
MouldingR.KyriosM.DoronG. (2007). Obsessive-compulsive behaviors in specific situations: The relative influence of appraisals of control, responsibility and threat. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 1693-1702.
40.
MyersS. G.FisherP. L.WellsA. (2008). Belief domains of the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire–44 (OBQ-44) and their specific relationship with obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22, 475-484.
41.
MuthénL. K.MuthénB. O. (1998-2015). Mplus (Version 7.4) [Computer software]. Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.
42.
Obsessive Compulsive Cognitions Working Group. (2001). Development and initial validation of the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire and the Interpretation of Intrusions Inventory. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39, 987-1006.
43.
Obsessive Compulsive Cognitions Working Group. (2005). Psychometric validation of the Obsessive Belief Questionnaire and Interpretation of Intrusions Inventory-Part 2: Factor analyses and testing of a brief version. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 43, 1527-1542.
44.
O’KearneyR. (1998). Responsibility appraisals and obsessive-compulsive disorder: A critique of Salkovskis’s cognitive theory. Australian Journal of Psychology, 50, 43-47.
45.
OlatunjiB. O.EbesutaniC.AbramowitzJ. S. (2017). Examination of a bifactor model of obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions. Assessment, 24, 45-59.
46.
OlatunjiB. O.RosenfieldD.TartC. D.CottrauxJ.PowersM. B.SmitsJ. A. J. (2013). Behavioral versus cognitive treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: An examination of outcome and mediators of change. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 81, 414-428.
47.
OlatunjiB. O.WilliamsB. J.HaslamN.AbramowitzJ. S.TolinD. F. (2008). The latent structure of obsessive-compulsive symptoms: A taxometric study. Depression and Anxiety, 25, 956-968.
48.
PaolacciG.ChandlerJ. (2014). Inside the turk: Understanding Mechanical Turk as a participant pool. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 184-188.
49.
ParsonsE. M.StraubK. T.SmithA. R.ClerkinE. M. (2017). Body dysmorphic, obsessive-compulsive, and social anxiety disorder beliefs as predictors of in vivo stressor responding. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 205, 471-479.
50.
PeerE.VosgerauJ.AcquistiA. (2014). Reputation as a sufficient condition for data quality on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Behavior Research Methods, 46, 1023-1031.
51.
RachmanS.ShafranR.MitchellD.TrantJ.TeachmanB. (1996). How to remain neutral: An experimental analysis of neutralization. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 11, 889-898.
52.
RachmanS.ThordarsonD. S.ShafranR.WoodyS. R. (1995). Perceived responsibility: Structure and significance. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33, 779-784.
53.
ReiseS. P. (2012). The rediscovery of bifactor measurement models. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 47, 667-696.
54.
ReiseS. P.BonifayW. E.HavilandM. G. (2013). Scoring and modeling psychological measures in the presence of multidimensionality. Journal of Personality Assessment, 95, 129-140.
55.
ReiseS. P.KimD. S.MansolfM.WidamanK. F. (2016). Is the bifactor model a better model or is it just better at modeling implausible responses? Application of iteratively reweighted least squares to the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 51, 818-838.
56.
RodriguezA.ReiseS. P.HavilandM. G. (2016). Evaluating bifactor models: Calculating and interpreting statistical indices. Psychological Methods, 21, 137-150.
57.
SalkovskisP. M.ForresterE. (2002). Responsibility. In FrostR. O.SteketeeG. (Eds.), Cognitive approaches to obsessions and compulsions: Theory, assessment, and treatment (pp. 45-61). New York, NY: Pergamon.
58.
SalkovskisP. M.ShafranR.RachmanS.FreestonM. H. (1999). Multiple pathways to inflated responsibility beliefs in obsessional problems: Possible origins and implications for therapy and research. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 37, 1055-1072.
59.
ShafranR.RachmanS. (2004). Thought-action fusion: A review. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 35, 87-107.
60.
ShafranR.ThordarsonD. S.RachmanS. (1996). Thought-action fusion in obsessive compulsive disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 10, 379-391.
61.
SmithG. T.McCarthyD. M.AndersonK. G. (2000). On the sins of short-form development. Psychological Assessment, 12, 102-111.
62.
StuckyB. D.EdelenM. O. (2015). Using hierarchical IRT to create unidimensional measures from multidimensional data. In ReiseS. P.RevickiD. A. (Eds.), Handbook of item response theory modeling: Applications to typical performance assessment (pp. 183-206). New York, NY: Routledge.
63.
TaylorS.ConeleaC. A.McKayD.CroweK. B.AbramowitzJ. S. (2014). Sensory intolerance: Latent structure and psychopathologic correlates. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 55, 1279-1284.
64.
TolinD. F.BradyR. E.HannanS. E. (2008). Obsessional beliefs and symptoms of obsessive–compulsive disorder in a clinical sample. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 30, 31-42.
65.
WangM.RussellS. S. (2005). Measurement equivalence of the Job Descriptive Index across Chinese and American workers: Results from confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 65, 709-732.
66.
WheatonM. G.AbramowitzJ. S.BermanN. C.RiemannB. C.HaleL. R. (2010). The relationship between obsessive beliefs and symptom dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48, 949-954.
67.
WilhelmS.BermanN. C.KeshaviahA.SchwartzR. A.SteketeeG. (2015). Mechanisms of change in cognitive therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder: Role of maladaptive beliefs and schemas. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 65, 5-10.
68.
WuK. D.CarterS. A. (2008). Further investigation of the Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire: Factor structure and specificity of relations with OCD symptoms. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22, 824-836.
69.
WuK. D.WymanS. V. (2016). Examination of racial differences in assessment of OCD symptoms and obsessive beliefs. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 10, 10-18.
