Experience of Trading Questionnaire (ETQ): A Multidimensional Measure of Maladaptive Trading. Development and Preliminary Findings

There is an increasing interest in the scientific literature for the risk of trading may become maladaptive. Therefore, we aim to develop a multidimensional instrument that capture its distinctive features. Drawing on a qualitative study and two systematic literature reviews, we developed a comprehensive list of potential descriptors of problematic trading to inform the development of an initial pool of items. We then conducted Exploratory (n = 107) and Confirmatory (n = 119) Factor Analyses, and convergent and validity analyses in samples of traders. We reached a brief 32-item questionnaire comprising three sections that assess trading experience: i) generally, ii) after losses, and iii) after gains. The first section contains 20 items and four scales: i) hostile anthropomorphizing of the market, ii) overthinking, iii) functional impairment, and iv) trading impression management. The second section includes eight items and two scales: i) self-blaming and ii) chasing losses through perseveration. Finally, the third section consists of a single four-item scale: chasing gains through perseveration. Overall, our preliminary findings suggest that the ETQ, pending further psychometric evaluation in larger and more heterogeneous samples, may provide a useful tool for future research on problematic trading (across different scholarly areas) by assessing a range of maladaptive trading-related experience.