Measuring Self-Serving Cognitive Distortions with Special Reference to Juvenile Delinquency: A Validation of the “How I Think” Questionnaire in a Sample of Portuguese Adolescents

• Author: Hugo S. Gomes,Joana Andrade,Marcos Ferreira,Maria Manuela Peixoto,David P. Farrington,Angela Maia
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211013544
• Published date: 01 August 2022
• Date: 01 August 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211013544

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2022, Vol. 66(10-11) 1175 –1190

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X211013544

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Article

Measuring Self-Serving

Cognitive Distortions with

Special Reference to Juvenile

Delinquency: A Validation

of the “How I Think”

Questionnaire in a Sample of

Portuguese Adolescents

Hugo S. Gomes1, Joana Andrade1, Marcos Ferreira1,

Maria Manuela Peixoto2, David P. Farrington3,

and Angela Maia1

Abstract

The present study aims to test the psychometric properties of the Portuguese

version of the “How I Think” (HIT) questionnaire. The HIT questionnaire is a self-

report measure of self-serving cognitive distortions. Our sample was comprised of

442 Portuguese-speaking adolescents and young adults (254 males and 188 females),

aged between 12 and 20 years. Of the total 442 participants, 351 were recruited

from a Portuguese school and 91 from four Portuguese detention centers for juvenile

delinquents. Data analysis provided evidence supporting the original six-factor model

solution, composed of a four-category typology of self-serving cognitive distortions

(i.e., Selfcentered, Blaming Others, Minimizing/Mislabeling, and Assuming the Worst),

an Anomalous responding, and one Positive filler factor. Further, results showed

satisfactory internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. In

conclusion, this article provides Portuguese researchers and practitioners with a valid

measure of self-serving cognitive distortions.

1University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

2North Lusíada University (Oporto), Portugal

3Cambridge University, UK

Corresponding Author:

Hugo S. Gomes, Research Centre on Psychology (CIPsi), University of Minho, Escola de Psicologia—

Campus de Gualtar, Braga 4710-057, Portugal.

Email: hugo.santos.gomes@gmail.com

1013544IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X211013544International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyGomes et al.

research-article2021

1176 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 66(10-11)

Keywords

cognitive distortions, How I Think, HIT, delinquency, ISRD3

Introduction

Human behavior is largely influenced by the way people interpret their own experi-

ences (e.g., Bandura, 1991). As a consequence, a biased processing of social experi-

ences may lead to inappropriate emotional and behavioral reactions (Dodge, 2011).

These biased processing tendencies have been described as cognitive distortions (see

Barriga et al., 2001). Research in this field has extensively linked cognitive distortions

to multiple types of psychopathology, such as depression (e.g., Beck, 1963) and anxi-

ety (e.g., Epkins, 1996), as well as different types of deviant behavior, such as gam-

bling (e.g., Fortune & Goodie, 2012), school bullying (e.g., Dragone et al., 2020), and

sexual offending (e.g., Ward et al., 1997).

Barriga et al. (2000) first described self-serving cognitive distortions and showed

how these specific distortions related to offending behavior. It is theorized that self-

serving cognitive distortions, by allowing people misattribute blame to others or mini-

mize the consequences of their own antisocial behavior, limit the person’s capacity for

empathy and guilt which, in turn, facilitates offensive and aggressive behaviors

(Barriga et al., 2008). The association between self-serving cognitive distortions and

offending behavior has been demonstrated by multiple studies (Demeter & Rusu,

2019; Helmond et al., 2014; Liau et al., 1998). Furthermore, some studies have shown

the importance of targeting cognitive distortions in interventions with juvenile delin-

quents (Gibbs et al., 1995; Lardén et al., 2006; Nas et al., 2005).

Within the study of self-serving cognitive distortions, Barriga et al. (2001) devel-

oped the How I Think (HIT) questionnaire, a self-report measure that provides an

assessment of people’s self-serving cognitive distortions based on the Gibbs et al.

(1995; Gibbs, 2014) four-category typology. According to these authors, self-serving

cognitive distortions could be divided into primary and secondary cognitive distor-

tions. The primary distortions are described as Self-Centered attitudes and beliefs, an

egocentric bias defined by the lack of ability to consider other people’s views, expecta-

tions, needs, rights, and feelings due to an extreme focus on the self. The secondary

cognitive distortions are rationalizations that act to reduce empathy and preserve a

person’s self-centered attitudes and self-esteem. The three secondary distortions are

Blaming Others (i.e., misattributing blame to outside sources), Minimizing/Mislabeling

(i.e., depicting antisocial behavior as causing no real harm), and Assuming the Worst

(i.e., gratuitously attributing hostile intentions to others) (Gibbs, 2014).

The HIT questionnaire was designed to assess the four-category typology of self-

serving cognitive distortions, that is, Self-Centered, Blaming Others, Minimizing/

Mislabeling, and Assuming the Worst. Furthermore, this instrument also provides

assessments of four categories of antisocial behavior (i.e., Opposition-Defiance,

Physical Aggression, Lying, and Stealing) derived from Conduct Disorder and

Oppositional Defiant Disorder in DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association [APA],