Table 4.

Examples of items retained during cognitive interviewing based on: participant think aloud and interviewer probing.

Sample retained items (with intended diagnostic domain)	Reason for retaining item
I felt sad. (Depression)	Easily understood in early rounds of cognitive interviewing.
I had difficulty sitting still. (Adult ADHDa)	Easily understood in early rounds of cognitive interviewing .
I thought I deserved to be punished. (Psychotic disorders-persecutory delusion or guilt)	Easily understood in early rounds of cognitive interviewing and central to persecutory delusions.
I felt like my thoughts were being controlled against my will. (Psychotic disorders-delusions of control )	Easily understood in early rounds of cognitive interviewing and central to delusions of control.

^aADHD: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.