Cognitive Failures Questionnaire
Also known as: CFQ, Cognitive Failures Scale
The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) is a 25-item self-report instrument designed to measure the frequency of everyday cognitive lapses and failures in memory, attention, and action slips. Developed by Broadbent and colleagues at the University of Oxford in 1982, the CFQ assesses subjective cognitive complaints in the general population and across diverse clinical and occupational settings. Higher scores reflect more frequent subjective cognitive failures and are associated with stress, fatigue, mood disturbance, and, in some populations, objective cognitive impairment.
Read the full method
Sign in with a free account to read this section.
Method map
The neighbourhood of related methods — select a node to explore.
When to use it
The CFQ is useful for assessing subjective cognitive complaints in primary care, occupational health, stress management, and research contexts. It can screen for perceived cognitive difficulties as a reason to pursue more objective testing or as part of a comprehensive cognitive assessment. The CFQ is particularly valuable for understanding patients' functional concerns in the context of normal objective testing. However, the CFQ is not diagnostic for dementia, mild cognitive impairment, or attention deficit disorder and should never be used as the sole basis for clinical decision-making.
Strengths & limitations
- Self-administered and brief — takes 5–10 minutes; no clinician training or equipment required; can be completed in waiting rooms or via digital platforms.
- Captures subjective burden — assesses the patient's own perception of cognitive failures, which is important for treatment planning and understanding functional impact.
- Psychometric stability — internal consistency (α ≈ 0.80–0.90) and test–retest reliability (r ≈ 0.80) are good across diverse populations.
- Multidimensional — subscales capture distinct aspects of everyday cognition (memory, attention, distractibility), allowing nuanced clinical understanding.
- Weak correlation with objective cognitive testing — high CFQ scores do not necessarily indicate dementia or true cognitive impairment; the instrument measures subjective burden, not objective deficits.
- Vulnerable to mood and stress effects — anxiety, depression, fatigue, and life stress substantially inflate CFQ scores independent of actual cognitive ability.
- Not diagnostic — the CFQ does not diagnose any cognitive disorder; low scores do not rule out dementia, and high scores may simply reflect normal stress or mood disturbance.
- Limited specificity — the CFQ is nonspecific; similar scores can arise from depression, stress, sleep apnea, or true cognitive impairment.
Frequently asked
If a patient scores high on the CFQ but has normal MMSE, should I be concerned about early dementia?
Not necessarily. The CFQ measures subjective complaint burden, which is often discordant with objective cognitive test performance. High CFQ + normal objective testing suggests mood disturbance, stress, sleep problems, or attentional issues rather than dementia. However, if clinical concern persists, consider more detailed neuropsychological testing and assessment for mood/stress.
What is the relationship between CFQ and depression or anxiety?
The CFQ is significantly correlated with depression (r ≈ 0.5–0.6) and anxiety (r ≈ 0.4–0.5). Depressed or anxious individuals report more cognitive failures, often due to reduced attention and concentration rather than true cognitive impairment. Always assess mood alongside CFQ in clinical practice.
Can the CFQ be used to screen for ADHD?
The CFQ may be elevated in ADHD due to attention and executive dysfunction, but it is not diagnostic. ADHD assessment requires clinical interview, detailed developmental history, behavioral observation, and often formal neuropsychological testing. The CFQ can be a component of broader ADHD screening but not a standalone tool.
What is a normal CFQ score for an older adult?
Mean CFQ scores in community samples of older adults (age 65+) typically range from 30 to 45. Scores above 50 are elevated relative to age-matched norms. However, individual variation is large; high scores may reflect normal age-related changes, stress, mood, or true cognitive impairment. Comparison to the patient's baseline and integration with clinical assessment are essential.
Sources
- Broadbent, D. E., Cooper, P. F., FitzGerald, P., & Parkes, K. R. (1982). The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) and its correlates. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 21(1), 1-16. DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1982.tb01421.x ↗
- Wallace, J. C., Kass, S. J., & Stanny, C. J. (2002). The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire revisited: Dimensions and correlates. The Journal of General Psychology, 129(3), 238-256. DOI: 10.1080/00221300209602098 ↗
- Mercier, L., & Desrochers, A. (2008). A cross-cultural study of the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire in younger and older adults. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 26(2), 125-138. link ↗
How to cite this page
ScholarGate. (2026, June 3). Cognitive Failures Questionnaire. ScholarGate. https://scholargate.app/en/neuropsychology/cognitive-failures-questionnaire
Which method?
Set this method beside its closest kin and read them side by side — the library lays the books on the table; the choice is yours.
- Frontal Assessment BatteryNeuropsychology↔ compare
- Mini-Mental State ExaminationNeuropsychology↔ compare
- Prospective and Retrospective Memory QuestionnaireNeuropsychology↔ compare
- Saint Louis University Mental Status ExaminationNeuropsychology↔ compare
- Trail Making TestNeuropsychology↔ compare