The Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire (CFWQ): A new scale for measuring cognitive complaints in occupational population

Anna-Leena Heikkinen; Tuomo Hänninen; Pekka Kuikka; Ritva Akila; Aslak Savolainen; Teppo Valtonen; Adil Umer; Jyrki Lötjönen; Christer Hublin; Anne M. Remes; Teemu Paajanen

doi:10.1080/23279095.2021.1970553

The Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire (CFWQ): A new scale for measuring cognitive complaints in occupational population

Anna-Leena Heikkinen, Tuomo Hänninen, Pekka Kuikka, Ritva Akila, Aslak Savolainen, Teppo Valtonen, Adil Umer, Jyrki Lötjönen, Christer Hublin, Anne M. Remes, Teemu Paajanen^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Cognitive functioning is a relevant work and health related topic, however, validated methods to assess subjective cognitive complaints (SCC) at work are lacking. We introduce the Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire (CFWQ) for measuring SCC in occupational settings. 1-year follow-up data of 418 employees from a Finnish public media service company was analyzed. Participants completed web-based CFWQ, cognitive tests and a broad set of questionnaires for evaluating depression, anxiety, insomnia, daytime sleepiness, burnout, stress, mental job burden, work ability, cognitive errors, and perceived health. The factor analysis yielded a model with the CFWQ subdomains: Memory, Language, Executive Function, Speed of Processing, Cognitive Control and Name Memory. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha =.87) and the test-retest constancy (ICC =.84) reflected good reliability. Correlation between the CFWQ and cognitive errors at work ranged from.25 to.64 indicating adequate concurrent validity. Employees with depression, insomnia and burnout symptoms had higher (p <.001) CFWQ scores than participants without these symptoms. Depression and burnout symptom severity as well as accumulation of mood, sleep, and psychosocial stressors were associated with higher CFWQ scores (p <.001 in all). The CFWQ appears psychometrically sound measure for the assessment of SCC in occupational population.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	649-660
Journal	Applied Neuropsychology: Adult
Volume	30
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/23279095.2021.1970553
Publication status	Published - 2023
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

The study was supported by Finnish Work Environment Fund. First author A-LH has received personal research grants from the University of Oulu Scholarship Foundation and the Finnish Brain Foundation sr. No funding source had any role in the designing, analysis or interpretation of the results in this study.

Keywords

Cognition
memory
neuropsychology
subjective cognitive complaint
work performance

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10.1080/23279095.2021.1970553

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Heikkinen, A.-L., Hänninen, T., Kuikka, P., Akila, R., Savolainen, A., Valtonen, T., Umer, A., Lötjönen, J., Hublin, C., Remes, A. M., & Paajanen, T. (2023). The Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire (CFWQ): A new scale for measuring cognitive complaints in occupational population. Applied Neuropsychology: Adult, 30(6), 649-660. https://doi.org/10.1080/23279095.2021.1970553

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abstract = "Cognitive functioning is a relevant work and health related topic, however, validated methods to assess subjective cognitive complaints (SCC) at work are lacking. We introduce the Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire (CFWQ) for measuring SCC in occupational settings. 1-year follow-up data of 418 employees from a Finnish public media service company was analyzed. Participants completed web-based CFWQ, cognitive tests and a broad set of questionnaires for evaluating depression, anxiety, insomnia, daytime sleepiness, burnout, stress, mental job burden, work ability, cognitive errors, and perceived health. The factor analysis yielded a model with the CFWQ subdomains: Memory, Language, Executive Function, Speed of Processing, Cognitive Control and Name Memory. The internal consistency (Cronbach{\textquoteright}s alpha =.87) and the test-retest constancy (ICC =.84) reflected good reliability. Correlation between the CFWQ and cognitive errors at work ranged from.25 to.64 indicating adequate concurrent validity. Employees with depression, insomnia and burnout symptoms had higher (p <.001) CFWQ scores than participants without these symptoms. Depression and burnout symptom severity as well as accumulation of mood, sleep, and psychosocial stressors were associated with higher CFWQ scores (p <.001 in all). The CFWQ appears psychometrically sound measure for the assessment of SCC in occupational population.",

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Heikkinen, A-L, Hänninen, T, Kuikka, P, Akila, R, Savolainen, A, Valtonen, T, Umer, A, Lötjönen, J, Hublin, C, Remes, AM & Paajanen, T 2023, 'The Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire (CFWQ): A new scale for measuring cognitive complaints in occupational population', Applied Neuropsychology: Adult, vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 649-660. https://doi.org/10.1080/23279095.2021.1970553

TY - JOUR

T1 - The Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire (CFWQ)

T2 - A new scale for measuring cognitive complaints in occupational population

AU - Heikkinen, Anna-Leena

AU - Hänninen, Tuomo

AU - Kuikka, Pekka

AU - Akila, Ritva

AU - Savolainen, Aslak

AU - Valtonen, Teppo

AU - Umer, Adil

AU - Lötjönen, Jyrki

AU - Hublin, Christer

AU - Remes, Anne M.

AU - Paajanen, Teemu

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Cognitive functioning is a relevant work and health related topic, however, validated methods to assess subjective cognitive complaints (SCC) at work are lacking. We introduce the Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire (CFWQ) for measuring SCC in occupational settings. 1-year follow-up data of 418 employees from a Finnish public media service company was analyzed. Participants completed web-based CFWQ, cognitive tests and a broad set of questionnaires for evaluating depression, anxiety, insomnia, daytime sleepiness, burnout, stress, mental job burden, work ability, cognitive errors, and perceived health. The factor analysis yielded a model with the CFWQ subdomains: Memory, Language, Executive Function, Speed of Processing, Cognitive Control and Name Memory. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha =.87) and the test-retest constancy (ICC =.84) reflected good reliability. Correlation between the CFWQ and cognitive errors at work ranged from.25 to.64 indicating adequate concurrent validity. Employees with depression, insomnia and burnout symptoms had higher (p <.001) CFWQ scores than participants without these symptoms. Depression and burnout symptom severity as well as accumulation of mood, sleep, and psychosocial stressors were associated with higher CFWQ scores (p <.001 in all). The CFWQ appears psychometrically sound measure for the assessment of SCC in occupational population.

AB - Cognitive functioning is a relevant work and health related topic, however, validated methods to assess subjective cognitive complaints (SCC) at work are lacking. We introduce the Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire (CFWQ) for measuring SCC in occupational settings. 1-year follow-up data of 418 employees from a Finnish public media service company was analyzed. Participants completed web-based CFWQ, cognitive tests and a broad set of questionnaires for evaluating depression, anxiety, insomnia, daytime sleepiness, burnout, stress, mental job burden, work ability, cognitive errors, and perceived health. The factor analysis yielded a model with the CFWQ subdomains: Memory, Language, Executive Function, Speed of Processing, Cognitive Control and Name Memory. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha =.87) and the test-retest constancy (ICC =.84) reflected good reliability. Correlation between the CFWQ and cognitive errors at work ranged from.25 to.64 indicating adequate concurrent validity. Employees with depression, insomnia and burnout symptoms had higher (p <.001) CFWQ scores than participants without these symptoms. Depression and burnout symptom severity as well as accumulation of mood, sleep, and psychosocial stressors were associated with higher CFWQ scores (p <.001 in all). The CFWQ appears psychometrically sound measure for the assessment of SCC in occupational population.

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KW - memory

KW - neuropsychology

KW - subjective cognitive complaint

KW - work performance

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DO - 10.1080/23279095.2021.1970553

M3 - Article

SN - 2327-9095

VL - 30

SP - 649

EP - 660

JO - Applied Neuropsychology: Adult

JF - Applied Neuropsychology: Adult

IS - 6

ER -

The Cognitive Function at Work Questionnaire (CFWQ): A new scale for measuring cognitive complaints in occupational population

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