REBT with Context of Basic Psychological Needs: RESD-A Scale

Artiran, Murat, Şimşek, Ömer Faruk and Turner, Martin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1975-5561 (2020) REBT with Context of Basic Psychological Needs: RESD-A Scale. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 48 (5). pp. 598-614. ISSN 1352-4658

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Abstract

Background Accurate psychometrics benefit from assessing given constructs within specifically defined con-texts. The assessment of context-specific irrational beliefs as put forth in Rational Emotive Be-haviour Therapy (REBT), under the three basic psychological needs described in Self Determi-nation Theory (SDT), represents a new path for research. Under the umbrella of Positive Psy-chology, a new scale for adolescents combining REBT and SDT is the first step towards concep-tualizing irrational beliefs within the three basic psychological needs. The integration of REBT and SDT would provide a more fully integrated view of adolescent mental health, and as such could provide a more cost-effective approach for preventing cognitive, emotive, and behavioural disturbances in young people. Aims The main aim of this paper is to outline the development and validation of the Rational Emotive Self Determination Scale for Adolescents (RESD-A), which measures irrational beliefs about the three basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness). Methods To achieve this main study aim, we report the results of four studies that test the factor struc-ture, internal consistency, construct, predictive validity, and test-retest reliability of the 51-item RESD-A, within samples of Turkish adolescents. Results Data analyses confirmed the theoretical expectations and yielded promising results for the va-lidity and reliability of the RESD-A. Conclusions The results suggest that assessment of irrational beliefs in the context of autonomy, competence and relatedness is possible and valuable for the treatment of adolescents.