Abstract:

Background and Aim: The purpose of the present study was to examine psychometric properties of the Believability of Anxious Feelings and Thoughts Questionnaire (BAFT) in a students population.

Materials and Methods: To this end, 324 university students from Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences were selected via cluster sampling method and participated in the present study through complete believability of anxious feelings and thoughts questionnaire, cognitive fusion questionnaire, acceptance and action questionnaire-II, social anxiety-acceptance and action questionnaire, social interaction anxiety scale, valued living questionnaire and quality of  life. Factor analysis by principle component analysis method, internal consistency analysis, convergent and divergent validity was conducted to examine the validity of the BAFT. To calculate the reliability of the BAFT, Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest reliability were used.

Results: Results from factor analysis yielded three factors that were named somatic concerns, emotion regulation and negative evaluation. The three-factor solution explained 50.72% of the variance. Evidence for the internal consistency was obtained via calculating correlations between BAFT and the subscales. Support for the convergent and divergent validity of the BAFT via its positive correlations with the cognitive fusion questionnaire, acceptance and action questionnaire-II, social interaction anxiety scale, and negative correlations with social anxiety- acceptance and action questionnaire, valued living questionnaire and WHOQOL-BREF was obtained. Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest coefficients BAFT were yielded 0.82 and 0.81, respectively.

‍Conclusion: The Iranian version of the BAFT has acceptable levels of psychometric properties. This questionnaire is a valid and reliable measure to be utilized in research investigations and therapeutic interventions.