Cognitive Flexibility Inventory: Factor structure, invariance, reliability, convergent, and discriminant validity among Italian university students

Cognitive flexibility (CF) is a fundamental human ability to adjust cognitive processing strategies to deal with new and unpredicted situations. In this sense, using valid and theoretically grounded measures of cognitive flexibility is critical. A new measure of CF, the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory, has recently been validated. This measure comprises two subscales: (1) Alternatives, which assesses ability in identifying alternative solutions and generating several explanations; and (2) Control, which assesses ability in perceiving difficult conditions as controllable. The main purpose of our study was to investigate the factorial structure, reliability, and measurement invariance of the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory in an Italian sample of university students. A self-report questionnaire was administered to 543 Italian university students. Results showed acceptable construct validity for the Italian version of the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory. Specifically, both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor model, Alternatives and Control, with19 items. Moreover, multigroup analyses showed structural invariance across sex. In sum, our results suggested that the Italian version of the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory is a valid instrument for assessing cognitive flexibility.