Reliability and validity of the Attributional Style Questionnaire- Survey in people with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: The current study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of an attributional style measure that can be administered remotely, to people who have multiple sclerosis (MS).

METHODS: A total of 495 participants with MS were recruited. Participants completed the Attributional Style Questionnaire-Survey (ASQ-S) and two comparison measures of cognitive variables via postal survey on three occasions, each 12 months apart. Internal reliability, test-retest reliability and congruent validity were considered.

RESULTS: The internal reliability of the ASQ-S was good (α > 0.7). The test-retest correlations were significant, but failed to reach the 0.7 set. The congruent validity of the ASQ-S was established relative to the comparisons.

CONCLUSIONS: The psychometric properties of the ASQ-S indicate that it shows promise as a tool for researchers investigating depression in people with MS and is likely sound to use clinically in this population.