Validation and Adaptation of the Attentional Control Scale Among a French-Speaking Population Through Factor and Network Analysis

The Attentional Control Scale (ACS) is a widely used self-reported assessment of attentional control. Due to the importance of those executive processes in the phenomenology of mood-related disorders, the ACS has been translated in multiple languages. Our purpose was to explore psychometric properties of two versions of the French ACS. In study 1, 455 participants completed the original ACS, which yielded excellent fit to a two-dimensional model (CFI = 0.972). However, as one factor contained in majority reversed coded items, this raised question about its validity. A second sample (N = 452) therefore completed a modified version of the ACS without reverse-coded items, which also yielded excellent fit to a two-dimensional model (CFI = 0.970). Finally, network analyses explored the relations between the ACS and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and resilience. Our results support the use of the French version of the ACS with items coded in a straightforward manner.