Psychometric properties of the children's automatic thoughts scale (CATS) in Chinese adolescents

The Children’s Automatic Thoughts Scale (CATS) is a 40-item self-report questionnaire designed to measure children’s negative thoughts. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Chinese translation of the CATS. Participants included 1,993 students (average age = 14.73) from three schools in Mainland China. A subsample of the participants was retested after 4 weeks. Confirmatory factor analysis replicated the original structure with four first-order factors loading on a single higher-order factor. The convergent and divergent validity of the CATS were good. The CATS demonstrated high internal consistency and test–retest reliability. Boys scored higher on the CATS-hostility subscale, but there were no other gender differences. Older adolescents (15–18 years) reported higher scores than younger adolescents (12–14 years) on the total score and on the physical threat, social threat, and hostility subscales. The CATS proved to be a reliable and valid measure of automatic thoughts in Chinese adolescents.