Development and Validation of the GI-Cognitions Questionnaire

Patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have been shown to have catastrophic cognitions regarding the social and occupational consequences of GI symptoms. Moreover, the efficacy of cognitive–behavioral therapy for IBS may be partially mediated by reductions in such cognitions. We aimed to develop and validate a short self-report measure of GI specific catastrophic cognitions. The GI-Cognitions Questionnaire (GI-Cog) was administered to a total of 291 participants, including 65 IBS patients, 114 Crohn’s disease patients, 22 patients with co-morbid Crohn’s and IBS and 90 healthy controls. The GI-Cog showed high internal consistency (α = .92) and good test re-test reliability (r = .87) as well as good factor structure. It discriminated between IBS patients, Crohn’s disease patients and normal controls, and explained unique variance in GI symptom severity. The GI-Cog is a short, easy-to-administer self-report measure of GI specific catastrophic cognitions that appears to be both reliable and valid and can be used in future research on vulnerability, treatment outcome and mediators of treatment efficacy.