Portuguese validation of the credibility/expectancy questionnaire in routine practice

This study aimed to validate and explore the psychometric properties of the credibility/expectancy questionnaire (CEQ) for the Portuguese population in the context of routine practice. The sample includes 87 clients from a university psychotherapy clinic. All clients completed self-report measures to assess credibility and expectation (CEQ), as well as measures of general mental health, depressive symptoms and therapeutic alliance in session 1 and session 2. The exploratory analysis revealed the existence of two factors in CEQ for the Portuguese population, factor 1 credibility and factor 2 expectation. The measure demonstrated good internal consistency, test-retest reliability and good adjustment in the confirmatory analysis. In terms of convergent validity, no significant correlation was found between credibility and expectation and the therapeutic alliance. The results corroborate the CEQ psychometric qualities for the Portuguese population, also showing its applicability in a context of routine practice.