The COVID-19 Pandemic—Related Irrational and Rational Beliefs Scale. An Investigation of the REBT Theoretical Model

The present study proposes a contextual specific, short measure of irrational and rational beliefs in order to provide a methodologically rigorous investigation of the REBT theoretical model. The COVID-19 Pandemic- Related Irrational and Rational Beliefs Scale was developed according with the REBT theory including rationally and irrationally worded items for each of the four cognitive processes. The data were collected online via google forms between March and June 2020, the sample comprised 798 individuals. A series of confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to investigate the factor structure of the scale. A total of seven measurement models representing different hypotheses about the structural relationship between the 32 items were estimated. Among the seven competing models, the eight-factor bifactor model comprising eight cognitive processes of irrational and rational beliefs factors and a general factor showed the best trade-of between model fit and complexity among all models. This model is congruent with the current theoretical formulation of REBT. The irrational cognitive processes themselves were highly correlated and the rational cognitive processes were moderately to highly correlate with each other. The concurrent validity was investigated and the results supported the validity of the instrument. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.