Factor structure of the children's attributional style questionnaire- revised

The Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire-Revised (CASQ-R) is a widely used measure of internal/external, global/specific, and stable/unstable dimensions of children's explanatory styles-an important part of understanding a young person's cognitive risk for depression. Little is known about the factor structure of the CASQ-R, despite the fact that it continues to be used in numerous studies. We examined the factor structure of the CASQ-R using a sample of 621 adolescents (184 males and 437 females), ages 11-18 years, recruited from public and private schools. Measurement models of the CASQ-R were developed based on theory and past research examining attributional measures, and were tested using confirmatory factor analyses. Results indicated an adequate model fit for a one-factor solution for negative event items and a two-factor solution for positive event items. Reliability estimates for these factors were low but acceptable in the former, but lower than recommended guidelines in the latter. Possible reasons for these findings are discussed, as are implications for research.