Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Psychometric Validation of the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire among emerging adults in Pakistan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71085/rjhsa.04.02.102Keywords:
Cognitive Fusion, Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Internet Use, Emerging Adults, Psychometric Validation, PakistanAbstract
The present study examined the factor structure, reliability, and construct validity of a five-item CFQ form in a sample of Pakistani emerging adults reporting varying levels of daily internet use. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using maximum likelihood estimation was conducted on data from 800 Pakistani emerging adults (60.0% aged 16–23; 51.7% male; 81.3% rural) to test the previously established one-factor model of the CFQ. Analyses were conducted in IBM SPSS Statistics version 28 and JASP (Version 0.19.3). Contrary to prior cross-cultural findings, the hypothesized single-factor model demonstrated poor and, in part, statistically inadmissible fit to the data, χ² (5) = 2539.38, p < .001, CFI = .528, TLI = .056, RMSEA = .796, SRMR = .223, with two standardized loadings exceeding 1.0 (Heywood cases). Internal consistency was acceptable (α = .809), yet the markedly unequal item loadings and large modification indices pointed to two latent item clusters rather than a single coherent factor. These findings diverge sharply from the excellent fit reported for the CFQ in other populations and raise important questions about the measurement equivalence, translation fidelity, and cultural applicability of the scale among Pakistani emerging adults with heavy internet engagement. Implications for scale adaptation, cross-cultural assessment of cognitive fusion, and future validation work are discussed
Downloads
References
Arslan, G., & Coşkun, M. (2021). Social exclusion, self-forgiveness, mindfulness, and internet addiction in college students: A moderated mediation approach. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 20, 2165–2179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-021-00506-1
Baer, R., Gu, J., & Strauss, C. (2025). Five facet mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ). In Handbook of assessment in mindfulness research (pp. 307–329). Springer Nature Switzerland.
Chang, H., Meng, X., Li, Y., Liu, J., Yuan, W., Ni, J., & Li, C. (2023). The effect of mindfulness on social media addiction among Chinese college students: A serial mediation model. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1087909
Chen, L., Li, J. Y., & Huang, J.-H. (2022). COVID-19 victimization experience and college students' mobile phone addiction: A moderated mediation effect of future anxiety and mindfulness. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137578
Choi, T.-J., Park, J., & Kim, D. (2021). The effect of stress on internet game addiction trends in adults: Mindfulness and conscientiousness as mediators. Psychiatry Investigation, 18, 779–788. https://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2020.0034
Fallah, M., Mohajerani, H., Omidi, A., & Ghaderi, A. (2025). Targeting internet addiction through body awareness psychotherapy: The mediating role of executive functions and emotion regulation. Brain and Behavior, 15. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70846
Garland, E., Hanley, A. W., Hudak, J., Nakamura, Y., & Froeliger, B. (2022). Mindfulness-induced endogenous theta stimulation occasions self-transcendence and inhibits addictive behavior. Science Advances, 8. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo4455
Giancola, M., Perazzini, M., Bontempo, D., Perilli, E., & D'Amico, S. (2024). Narcissism and problematic social media use: A moderated mediation analysis of fear of missing out and trait mindfulness in youth. International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 41, 8554–8564. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2024.2411468
Gibson, J. (2024). Trauma, early life stress, and mindfulness in adulthood. BMC Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01563-6
Gillanders, D. T., Bolderston, H., Bond, F. W., Dempster, M., Flaxman, P. E., Campbell, L., Kerr, S., Tansey, L., Noel, P., Ferenbach, C., Masley, S., Roach, L., Lloyd, J., May, L., Clarke, S., & Remington, B. (2014). The development and initial validation of the cognitive fusion questionnaire. Behavior Therapy, 45(1), 83–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2013.09.001
Gkintoni, E., Vassilopoulos, S., & Nikolaou, G. (2025). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in clinical practice: A systematic review of neurocognitive outcomes and applications for mental health and well-being. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14051703
Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2012). Emotion regulation questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Jeong, J. H., & Bae, S. (2024). The relationship between perceived stress and smartphone addiction: The mediating effect of rumination and the mediated moderating effect of mindfulness. Psychiatry Investigation, 21, 340–351. https://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2022.0288
Judah, M. R., Grant, D. M., Mills, A. C., & Lechner, W. V. (2014). Factor structure and validation of the attentional control scale. Cognition & Emotion, 28(3), 433–451.
Kong, L., Zhao, M., Huang, W., Zhang, W., & Liu, J. (2025). The impact of academic anxiety on smartphone addiction among college students: The mediating role of self-regulatory fatigue and the moderating role of mindfulness. BMC Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02696-y
Li, D., Xu, Y., & Cao, S. (2023). How does trait mindfulness weaken the effects of risk factors for adolescent smartphone addiction? A moderated mediation model. Behavioral Sciences, 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13070540
Li, J., Lu, A., Ye, L., Chen, G., Ling, H., Chen, W., Zhong, Y., An, Y., & Ke, X. (2025). Mobile phone addiction, self-control, mind wandering, and cognitive failure in Chinese adolescents: A network analysis and a chain mediation model. Psychology in the Schools, 62. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.23426
Li, J., Man, L., Chen, L., Zhang, Y., & Wang, Z. (2025). Mindfulness, emotion regulation, and mental health in Chinese college students: Cognitive reappraisal as mediator and neuroticism/openness as moderators. Acta Psychologica, 260, 105552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105552
Li, J., Wang, D., Bai, S., & Yang, W. (2025). The effect of mindfulness-based Tai Chi Chuan on mobile phone addiction among male college students is associated with executive functions. PLOS One, 20, e0314211. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314211
Liu, F., Xi, Y., Li, N., & Wu, M. (2024). Brief mindfulness training mitigates college students' mobile phone addiction: The mediating effect of the sense of meaning in life. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 17, 273–282. https://doi.org/10.2147/prbm.s439360
Rosenthal, A., Levin, M. E., Garland, E., & Romanczuk-Seiferth, N. (2021). Mindfulness in treatment approaches for addiction: Underlying mechanisms and future directions. Current Addiction Reports, 8, 282–297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-021-00372-w
Schepers, M., Lagerweij, P., Geurts, D. E. M., Krause, F., Ouden, H. D., Cools, R., Speckens, A., & Collin, G. (2025). Promoting Resilience in Youth through Mindfulness mEditation (PRYME): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychiatry, 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-024-06430-7
Shahbal, S., Khan, A., Zammar, A. M. A., Hamdi, A. M., Alharbi, H., Alzahrani, A. H., & Batool, R. (2022). Technology addiction, sleep disturbance and physical inactivity among psychiatric patients. International Journal of Clinical Skills, 16, 231.
Talebisiavashani, F., & Mohammadi-Sartang, M. (2024). The effect of mindfulness-based interventions on mental health and cognitive function in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Aging and Health, 37, 619–631. https://doi.org/10.1177/08982643241263882
Tang, A. C., Lee, R. L.-T., Chan, A. C.-K., Kwan, R. Y. C., & Lee, P. (2025). Mindfulness-based cognitive program as a potential intervention for managing smartphone addiction and resilience in adolescents: A pilot evaluation. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, 13. https://doi.org/10.1080/21642850.2025.2508833
Wang, S., Cheng, Y., Yang, Y., & Lu, B.-C. (2025). The impact of physical activity on internet addiction among college students: The chain mediation role of rumination and mindfulness. BMC Public Health, 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-25053-5
Wang, Y., Tang, W., Cao, L., & Li, Y. (2022). Self-concept clarity and internet addiction disorder among junior high school students: A moderate mediation model. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.989128
Wu, J., & Li, H. (2021). Mindfulness for sustainable internet use in Chinese junior secondary school students: A dual-path mediation model. Sustainability, 13, 4626. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13094626
Yang, G.-H., Cao, X.-X., Fu, Y.-Y., Wang, N., & Lian, S. (2024). Mobile phone addiction and academic burnout: The mediating role of technology conflict and the protective role of mindfulness. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1365914
Young, K. S. (1998). Internet addiction: The emergence of a new clinical disorder. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 1(3), 237–244. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.1998.1.237
Yuan, G. F., Lu, Y., Tao, Y., & Shi, W. (2025). Roles of mindfulness and depressive symptoms on the association between adverse childhood experiences and non-suicidal self-injury. European Journal of Psych traumatology, 16. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2025.2521917
Zainal, N., & Newman, M. (2023). Mindfulness enhances cognitive functioning: A meta-analysis of 111 randomized controlled trials. Health Psychology Review, 18, 369–395. https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2023.2248222
Zheng, G., Sheng, J., Wang, H., & Xu, Z. (2025). Mindfulness and work addiction among young employees: The mediating roles of cognitive reappraisal and perfectionism. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1631792.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Sayed Shahbal, Dr. Asia Mushtaq (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
