Understanding Cognitive Distortions in University Students Across Academic Years

COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS AMONG STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGES OF EDUCATION FOR HUMANITIES AND PURE SCIENCES IN LIGHT OF SOME VARIABLES

The present study examined the level of cognitive distortions among students of the College of Education for Humanities and the College of Education for Pure Sciences at the University of Mosul and tested differences according to academic specialization, gender, and academic year. A stratified random sample of 160 students from the second and fourth years was selected during the academic year 2025–2026. The researcher adopted Al-Tarawneh's (2023) 50-item Cognitive Distortions Scale. Face validity was established through 13 expert judges with 100% agreement, and test–retest reliability on 40 students yielded a coefficient of 0.81. Data were analysed using SPSS, Pearson's correlation coefficient, the one-sample t-test, and the independent-samples t-test. The overall mean score (M = 151.27, SD = 18.83) did not differ significantly from the hypothetical mean of 150 (t = 0.86). No statistically significant differences were found by academic specialization (t = 1.74) or gender (t = 1.85). A statistically significant difference emerged by academic year (t = 3.15), with second-year students (M = 155.80) scoring higher than fourth-year students (M = 146.17). The findings indicate that cognitive distortions remained near the scale midpoint and were lower among students at the more advanced academic leve