Cognitive Restructuring and Acceptance: An Empirically Grounded Conceptual Analysis

The study explores the constructs of cognitive restructuring and acceptance using items from well-established measures of the respective constructs in order to determine what subcategories or conceptual nuances that could be empirically detected, and examines these factors’ relationship to each other and to positive and negative emotionality, quality of life and clinical status. The design of the study is cross-sectional and uses data from both a clinical (N = 172) and a non-clinical sample (N = 638). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used to identify and validate first order factors related to cognitive restructuring and acceptance, and regression analyses were used to determine the relationship between the identified factors and the criterion variables. In sum, the findings from the study indicate that acceptance and cognitive restructuring should not be regarded as unitary and non-related constructs, but rather as partly overlapping general dimensions of emotion regulation consisting of several sub constructs or conceptual nuances with somewhat different psychological functions and properties. The results are interpreted and discussed in relation to the ongoing discussion within clinical psychology concerning the concepts and processes related to cognitive restructuring and acceptance.