Oxford Cognitions and Defences Questionnaire (O-CDQ)
A printable PDF version of Oxford Cognitions and Defences Questionnaire (O-CDQ) is available for download and use.
Rosebrock, L., Lambe, S., Mulhall, S., Petit, A., Loe, B. S., Saidel, S., Pervez, M., Mitchell, J., Chauhan, N., Prouten, E., Chan, C., Aynsworth, C., Murphy, E., Jones, J., Powling, R., Chapman, K., Dudley, R., Morrison, A., O’Regan, E., Clark, D. M., Waite, F. and Freeman, D. (2022) “Understanding agoraphobic avoidance: the development of the Oxford Cognitions and Defences Questionnaire (O-CDQ),” Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy. Cambridge University Press, 50(3), pp. 257–268.
SCORING
Threat cognitions score (Part A): The ratings for each item in part A are added together to create a total threat cognition score, where higher scores indicate greater severity.
Anxious avoidance score (Part B): The ratings for each item in part B are added together to create a total anxious avoidance score, where higher scores indicate greater severity.
Within-situation safety behaviour score (Part C): The ratings for each item in part C are added together to create a total safety behaviour score, where higher scores indicate greater severity.
Part 1: Fearful thoughts about being outside (worries)
People sometimes find it difficult to go into everyday situations because they worry that something bad will happen. This questionnaire asks about the worries you may have before going out, or when you are outside your home.
Please read each statement below and select the number that best describes how much you’ve had this fear over the past two weeks.
In the past two weeks I feared that:
1: I will embarrass myself.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
2: I will fail.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
3: People will judge me negatively.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
4: I will be rejected.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
5: I will panic.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
6: I will lose control.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
7: Everyone will watch me.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
8: People will laugh at me.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
9: I will become verbally aggressive.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
10: People will try to upset me.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
11: I will physically harm someone else.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
12: People will harm me physically.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
13: I won’t be able to cope with voices.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
14: Voices will harm me in some way.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
PART 2: Keeping away from outside situations (avoidance)
Fears and worries often lead to people not going into situations. They avoid situations because of the fears of what may happen. Please rate how often you have avoided the situations below in the past two weeks as a result of worries.
IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS I HAVE AVOIDED:
1: MY LOCAL SHOP
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
2: SHOPPING CENTRES
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
3: SUPERMARKETS
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
4: USING PUBLIC TRANSPORT (E.G. BUS, TRAIN)
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
5: MY NEIGHBOURS
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
6: GP SURGERY OR HEALTH CENTRE
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
7: CAFÉS
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
8: WALKING ON THE STREET
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
9: MEETING PEOPLE OR SOCIAL GATHERINGS
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
10: PEOPLE IN AUTHORITY (E.G. THE POLICE)
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
11: My workplace or place of education
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
PART 3: Dealing with risks when outside (defences)
There may be times when a person can't avoid being in situations that worry them. At these times they may try to reduce the risk. They may put up defences to keep themselves safe.
Please circle the number that best describes how often you may have used each strategy to try and keep yourself safe in the past two weeks.
IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS I HAVE AVOIDED:
1: I avoided making eye contact.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
2: I watched out for signs that something bad might happen.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
3: I left as soon as I started to feel anxious.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
4: I scanned faces for signs of judgement or criticism.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
5: When out, I kept my distance from other people.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
6: I formed an escape plan.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
7: When out, I did everything as quickly as possible.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always
8: I listened out for trouble.
0 Never
1 Occasionally
2 Often
3 Always