Cognitive conflicts in a community sample: An exploratory study

Resum

The study of cognitive conflicts has been carried out from different theoretical orientations. In the context of Personal Construct Psychology, with the Repertory Grid Technique we can operationalize Implicative Dilemma (IDs), a type of cognitive conflict, and thus study their role in mental and physical health. This paper analyzed construction of the self, cognitive structure and psychological distress in people with and without ID in a community sample of115 participants (56.5% female). The Repertory Grid Technique, and Spanish versions of the Symptom Check List-90-R (SCL-90 -R) and the Clinical Outcome in Routine Evaluation (CORE-OM) were used as assessment tools. Themain results suggested that participants without DI felt better with themselves and others than those with at least one ID. On the issue of cognitive complexity, those participants with dilemmas show a more differentiated cognitive structure.The latter also presented higher scores in the depression and anxiety scales of the SCL-90-R, and global measures of CORE-OM