Factor structure and psychometric properties of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale Revised in Colombian undergraduates

The Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS) is a classic, 40-item measure of dysfunctional schema – a key construct of the cognitive model of depression. However, some controversy exists regarding the factorial structure of the DAS. Accordingly, a revised version of the DAS (hereafter, the DAS-R) has been recently proposed using confirmatory factor analysis and consisting of 17 items. The DAS-R contains two correlated factors: Perfectionism/Performance evaluation and Dependency. In a previous study with a Spanish sample, a hierarchical factor model with these two first-order factors and a general factor showed the best fit of the data. This study analyses the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the DAS-R in a sample of 762 Colombian undergraduates. The results were very similar to the ones obtained in the Spanish sample. The hierarchical factor structure showed the best fit of the data, and the DAS-R showed good internal consistency and discriminant and convergent validity. In conclusion, the DAS-R seems a good option to measure dysfunctional schema in Colombia. Furthermore, the replication of the hierarchical factor structure indicates that the DAS-R provides general and specific measures of dysfunctional schema that are theoretically meaningful.