Self-reported attentional control with the Attentional control scale: Factor structure and relationship with symptoms of anxiety and depression
Abstract
The Attentional Control Scale (ACS) is a self-report questionnaire that has been developed to measure individual differences in attentional control. Despite its fairly widespread use, little is known about the psychometric properties of the scale in adult samples. In the present study, factor structure of the ACS and its relationship with symptoms of anxiety and depression was investigated in a total sample of 728 Icelandic university students. Exploratory factor analysis in sample 1 (n=361), yielded two factors, labeled focusing and shifting. Confirmatory factor analysis in sample 2 (n=367) showed a reasonable fit of this two factor model. The two factors correlated strongly (0.73). The two subscales showed different predictive validity in a set of hierarchical regression analyses where the focusing subscale made a significant prediction of anxiety scores when depression scores were controlled for, and the shifting subscale significant prediction of depression scores when anxiety scores were controlled for. These findings are discussed in relation to previous studies on attentional and executive control in anxiety and depression.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The ACS focusing subscale has good internal consistency (α = .82), and the shifting subscale has acceptable internal consistency (α = .68).
“Internal consistency is good for the focusing subscale (α = .82) and acceptable for the shifting subscale (α = .68; Olafsson et al., 2011).”
From Group CBT versus MBSR for social anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled trial. (2016) · cites this paper as Olafsson et al., 2011
High attentional control is associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression.
“Studies have found that high attentional control is associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression (Ólafsson et al., 2011; Reinholdt-Dunne et al., 2013), thereby highlighting attentional control as a relevant therapeutic target.”
From Mediators of acceptance and mindfulness-based therapies for anxiety and depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2022) · cites this paper as Ólafsson et al., 2011
Poor cognitive flexibility relates more closely to depression than anxiety symptoms.
“studies of self-reported attention control in healthy young adults suggest that poor cognitive flexibility relates more closely to depression than anxiety symptoms”
From Anxiety and attention to threat: cognitive mechanisms and treatment with attention bias modification (2016) · cites this paper as Olafsson et al., 2011
Poor top-down inhibitory control (e.g., high general distractibility) may relate more closely to anxiety than depression symptoms.
“poor top-down inhibitory control (e.g., high general distractibility) may relate more closely to anxiety than depression symptoms (Olafsson et al., 2011;Reinholdt-Dunne, Mogg, & Bradley, 2013).”
From Anxiety and attention to threat: cognitive mechanisms and treatment with attention bias modification (2016) · cites this paper as Olafsson et al., 2011
The citation lists haven’t been fetched yet
References 57 · Cited by 160
- Authors
- Ólafsson, R. P., Smári, J., Guðmundsdóttir, F., Ólafsdóttir, G., Harðardóttir, H. L., & Einarsson, S. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Iceland (IS)
- Corresponding author
- Ólafsson, Ragnar P.
- ORCID
- Ólafsson, Ragnar P.
- Venue
- Journal of Anxiety Disorders
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-08
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 777-782
- ISSN
- 0887-6185 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2035314636
- Cited by
- 160
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 7.80
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Anxiety Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Hirsla (Landspítali University Hospital) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Psychometric Methodologies and Testing
- Keywords
- attentional control, factor structure, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, executive function, attentional shift, attentional focus, psychometric properties, university students
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Anxiety, Attention, Depression, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Female, Humans, Male, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychometrics, Surveys and Questionnaires, Self Report
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
