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Abstract
Previous research has suggested that unpleasant and unwanted thoughts are a frequent
experience in both normal and clinical populations. This paper describes the development
and validation of a questionnaire that assesses strategies for controlling such thoughts.
Analyses of the Thought Control Questionnaire (TCQ) demonstrated five replicable factors:
Distraction; Social Control; Worry; Punishment and Reappraisal. Significant associations
were found between the punishment and worry subscales of the TCQ and various measures
of emotional vulnerability and perceptions of impaired control over cognition. The
implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the literature on thought
suppression, worry and mental self-regulation.