Cognitive-behavioral assessment of depression: clinical validation of the automatic thoughts questionnaire.

Hollon and Kendall's (1980) Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ-30) was designed to identify and measure the frequency of occurrence of automatic negative thoughts associated with depression. This 30-item self-statement inventory was constructed and cross-validated using male and female undergraduates as subjects. The present study examined the applicability of the ATQ-30 to clinical populations. Compared to nondepressed mental-health-center clients and nondepressed medical patients, significantly higher ATQ-30 scores were found for mental-health-center clients who met the criteria for inclusion in a depressed group. The ATQ-30 correlated significantly with therapist ratings of depression, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Depression scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Splithalf and coefficient alpha reliability coefficients were also highly significant, as were item-to-total correlations. The ATQ-30 appears to be a valid and reliable measure of depression-related cognitions in clinical as well as nonclinical populations.