French Adaptation and Further Validation of the Word Sentence Association Paradigm to Assess Hostile Attributional Biases

Hostile attributional biases (HAB) are implicated in several interpersonal and mental health problems. These problems have been shown to be present also in French-speaking areas. However, French-validated assessments of HAB are few and present important limitations that hinder their wide adoption by researchers and health professionals. We therefore developed a French version of the Word Sentence Association Paradigm-Hostility (WSAP-H), which is a short, easy to administer, and relatively implicit measure of HAB. We then conducted a psychometric study in an online community sample of 315 individuals. Replicating previous validation studies, we found the scores of the French WSAP-H to be internally consistent (alpha = 0.81; omega = 0.84), and we provided factorial (one-factor structure), convergent (significant correlations with another HAB measure, as well as with theoretically related constructs of anger and hostility), and discriminant (low or nonsignificant correlations with negative mood) evidence supporting the validity of WSAP-H scores as measures of HAB. Going beyond previous results, we further showed that these HAB scores (a) demonstrate acceptable test-retest reliability (r = 0.77) and stability (nonsignificant and small [d = 0.21] changes at the group level) at 8 weeks interval, (b) relate to self-reported interpersonal problems, and (c) are distinct from a more general tendency to make negative attributions. The scores of the French WSAP-H thus constitute a reliable and valid measure of HAB, supporting the usefulness of this tool in research and intervention settings. Public Significance Statement Hostile attributional biases are tendencies to interpret ambiguous social situations as hostile, which affect relationships and mental health. It is thus crucial for researchers and clinicians to be able to evaluate them. However, French assessment tools are few and present problems that limit their usefulness. We addressed this problem by developing and making publicly accessible a French version of the Word Sentence Association Paradigm-Hostility, which is a short and easy-to-use assessment of hostile attributional biases.