Development and Validation of a Beliefs in Interpersonal Relationships Questionnaire (BIRQ) in Young Adults
Development and Validation of a Beliefs in Interpersonal Relationships Questionnaire (BIRQ) in Young Adults
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DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.5583362329093
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Palavras-chave: crenças desadaptativas; jovens adultos; violência; elaboração e validação; instrumentos de avaliação.
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Keywords: maladaptive beliefs, young adults, violence, elaboration and validation, assessment instruments
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Abstract: Beliefs are information processing structures developed over time. Previous adverse experiences or psychopathic traits may contribute to create maladaptive beliefs (MB) and their crystallization in cognitive schemes. MB can negatively impact behavior and enhance conflicts and violence, particularly against women, so their early identification is important. The age of young adults marks the entry into adulthood and is a phase characterized by several challenges, whose overtaking can be constrained by MB. The aim of this study was to develop the Beliefs in Interpersonal Relationships Questionnaire, initially composed of 42 items, which aims to identify MB in young adults. The study included 1,193 individuals of both sexes; notwithstanding, 22 of them showed high scores of Social Desirability Scale (i.e., > 17), and were eliminated. The final sample was, then, composed by a total of 1,161 individuals with an average of 22.9 years of age and of 13.5 years of schooling. The analyses allowed to identify a structure of 30 items distributed by four Factors (Diversion, Violence, Blaming, and Assertiveness), with satisfactory adjustment rates (GFI = .985, AGFI = .979, NNFI = .981), CFI = .986, e RMSEA = .054), and good internal consistency (α = .941). There was also significant negative, weak to moderate correlations between the TriPM subscales and adaptive beliefs, and positive correlations with maladaptive beliefs. This new measure can help to improve the results of clinical practice and research in the forensic area. This study makes a significant contribution to helping fill an existing gap in Forensic Psychology: the lack of validated instruments for the Portuguese population.
- Eduardo Armando Ribeiro Garcia de Araújo
- Diana Moreira
- Olga Furriel Souza Cruz