Investigating the Reliability and Validity of the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI-I) among Iranian University Students

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to inspect the validity and reliability of the Iranian version of the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI-I). Methods: The statistical population of the present study was selected among the university students studying at Shiraz University in the 2010-2011 academic year. Two hundred and seventy seven of the university students were recruited via cluster sampling method. The participants answered the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI-I), Connor and Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Beck Depression Inventory Second Edition (BDI-II) and Billings and Moos Coping Styles Questionnaire (CSQ). Results: To examine the validity of the CFI-I, factor analysis by principle component analysis method was run, the result of which yielded three factors namely, Control, Alternatives and Alternatives for Human Behaviors that explained 56.02% of the variance. Support for the convergent and discriminant validity of the CFI-I was obtained by its correlations with the measures of depression, coping strategies, and resilience. Evidence for the internal consistency of the CFI was obtained by calculating correlations between the CFI-I and its subscales. Also, the Cronbach’s alpha and test-retest coefficients for the CFI-I reliability were 0.90 and 0.71, respectively. Conclusion: It was concluded that the Iranian version of the CFI has acceptable levels of validity and reliability among Iranian university students and can be utilized in research investigations and therapeutic interventions.