Coping Attitudes Scale: Psychometric Properties of a Measure of Positive Attitudes in Depression

The current study investigated the reliability and validity of the Coping Attitudes Scale (CAS), a new measure designed to assess positive cognitions in depression. The CAS is based on cognitive theory and the items reflect the experience of depressed patients during recovery. Psychiatric inpatients (n = 141) meeting criteria for a major depressive disorder and college students (n = 135) completed the CAS and measures of depression and hopelessness. The 23-item CAS demonstrated high internal consistency and retest reliability. Preliminary evidence for validity was observed via strong, negative correlations with measures of depression and hopelessness. Based on difference scores, changes in the CAS were inversely related to changes in depression. However, factor analytic results suggest that the CAS is not merely assessing the opposite of depression. Preliminary findings indicate that the CAS is a reliable, stable scale that measures positive cognitions.