This study evaluated the factor structure of the Children’s Negative Cognitive Error Questionnaire—Revised (CNCEQ-R) and its relationship with anxiety and depressive symptoms. The study included a community sample of 257 children and adolescents and a clinical sample of 201 referred youths, aged 9–18 years. Participants completed the CNCEQ-R and the revised child anxiety and depression scale (RCADS). For the original five-factor model, confirmatory factor analysis indicated an overall good fit to the data for the entire sample. The model was found fully invariant between boys and girls, children and adolescents, and clinically-referred and non-referred youths. The cognitive error of “overgeneralizing” accounted for most of the variance in depressive symptoms (15 %), while “mind reading” accounted for most of the variance in anxiety symptoms (20 %). The CNCEQ-R total score was significantly higher in youth with depression only than in youth with other disorders.
