Purpose of the Scale

The aim of this scale is to measure cognitive distortion, which is considered a characteristic of the thinking patterns of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), who tend to confuse thoughts with actions (Rachman, 1993; Shafran, Thordarson, & Rachman, 1996). The scale consists of two factors: a) likelihood and b) morality. It evaluates both of these parameters.

Scale Analysis

The Thought-Action Fusion Scale [TAFS-19] was developed by Shafran and his colleagues in 1996 and consists of 19 items. Of these, 12 assess the degree to which an individual interprets intrusive thoughts and forbidden actions as morally equivalent, 4 assess the degree to which a person believes that thinking about a negative event happening to a loved one makes it more likely to happen in reality, and the final 3 assess the degree to which a person believes that thinking about a negative event happening to themselves makes it more likely to occur.

Scoring and Statistical Analysis

Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). The total score is calculated by summing the scores of all items, with a minimum possible score of 0 and a maximum of 76. A higher score indicates a greater degree of cognitive distortion.

Validity and Reliability

The internal consistency index (Cronbach’s alpha) showed very good reliability at 0.85.

References

Lee, S. W., Cha, H., Chung, Y., Kim, E., Song, H., Chang, Y., & Lee, S. J. (2019). The neural correlates of thought–action fusion in healthy adults: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Depression and Anxiety, 36(8), 732-743.
Rachman, S. (1993). Obsessions, responsibility and guilt. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 31(2), 149-154.
Rassin, E., Merckelbach, H., Muris, P., & Schmidt, H. (2001). The thought-action fusion scale: Further evidence for its reliability and validity. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 39(5), 537-544.
Shafran, R., & Rachman, S. (2004). Thought-action fusion: A review. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 35(2), 87-107.
Shafran, R., Thordarson, D. S., & Rachman, S. (1996). Thought-action fusion in obsessive compulsive disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 10(5), 379-391.