Abstract
Psychological flexibility constitutes one of the most crucial protective factors of mental health in the context of the lengthy COVID-19 pandemic. The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II (AAQ-II) is the most widely used instrument in assessing psychological flexibility and change processes involved in interventions aimed to promote them, mainly within the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) model. Various translations and adaptations of the AAQ-II address specific clinical and non-clinical contexts. However, an instrument that assesses psychological flexibility in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic needs to be developed. The present study conducted a pilot phase of developing an Acceptance and Commitment Questionnaire in the COVID-19 pandemic (AAQ-COVID-19) context. The instrument is a 10-item Likert-type scale with five response options, it assesses the unidimensional construct of psychological flexibility. Data collected from a convenience sample of 36 adults, ages 42-76 (M=59.3), shows that all ten scale items have discriminating power. Methodological considerations regarding the construction and adaptations of items to address specific contexts are the main points of the discussion.
References
Arslan, G., Yıldırım, M., Tanhan, A., Buluş, M. y Allen, K.A. (2021). Coronavirus stress, optimism-pessimism, psychological inflexibility, and psychological health: Psychometric properties of the Coronavirus Stress Measure. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 19(6), 2423-2439. Doi: 10.1007/s11469-020-00337-6
Basarkod, G., Sahdra, B. y Ciarrochi, J. (2018). Body Image-Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-5: An abbreviation using genetic algorithms. Behavior Therapy, 49(3), 388-402. Doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2017.09.006
Bond, F.W., Hayes, S.C., Baer, R.A., Carpenter, K.M., Guenole, N., Orcutt, H.K., Waltz, T. y Zettle, R.D. (2011). Preliminary psychometric properties of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II: A revised measure of psychological inflexibility and experiential avoidance. Behavior Therapy, 42(4), 676-688. Doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2011.03.007
Bond, F.W., Lloyd, J. y Guenole, N. (2013). The Work-Related Acceptance and Action Questionnaire: Initial psychometric findings and their implications for measuring psychological flexibility in specific contexts. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 86(3), 331-347. Doi: 10.1111/joop.12001
Cheron, D.M., Ehrenreich, J.T. y Pincus, D.B. (2009). Assessment of parental experiential avoidance in a clinical sample of children with anxiety disorders. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 40(3), 383-403. Doi: 10.1007/s10578-009-0135-z
Fledderus, M., Bohlmeijer, E.T., Fox, J.-P., Schreurs, K.M.G. y Spinhoven, P. (2013). The role of psychological flexibility in a self-help acceptance and commitment therapy intervention for psychological distress in a randomized controlled trial. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 51(3), 142-151. Doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2012.11.007
Fledderus, M., Bohlmeijer, E.T., Smit, F. y Westerhof, G.J. (2010). Mental health promotion as a new goal in public mental health care: a randomized controlled trial of an intervention enhancing psychological flexibility. American Journal of Public Health, 100(12), 2372-2372. Doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2010.196196
Fledderus, M., Oude-Voshaar, M.A.H., ten Klooster, P.M. y Bohlmeijer, E.T. (2012). Further evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II. Psychological Assessment, 24(4), 925-936. Doi: 10.1037/a0028200
Flynn, M.K., Berkout, O.V. y Bordieri, M.J. (2016). Cultural considerations in the measurement of psychological flexibility: Initial validation of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II among Hispanic individuals. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 16(2), 81-93. Doi: 10.1037/bar0000035
Gloster, A.T., Lamnisos, D., Lubenko, J., Presti, G., Squatrito, V., Constantinou, M., Nicolaou, C., Papacostas, S., Aydın, G., Chong, Y., Chien, W.T., Cheng, H. y., Ruiz, F.J., Garcia-Martin, M.B., Obando-Posada, D.P., Segura-Vargas, M.A., Vasiliou, V.S., McHugh, L., Höfer, S., … Karekla, M. (2020). Impact of COVID−pandemic on mental health: An international study. PLOS ONE, 15(12), e0244809. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244809
Gloster, A.T., Meyer, A.H. y Lieb, R. (2017). Psychological flexibility as a malleable public health target: Evidence from a representative sample. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 6(2), 166-171. Doi: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2017.02.003
Gregg, J.A., Callaghan, G.M., Hayes, S.C. y Glenn-Lawson, J.L. (2007). Improving diabetes self-management through acceptance, mindfulness, and values: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75(2), 336-343. Doi: 10.1037/0022-006X.75.2.336
Hayes, S.C., Luoma, J.B., Bond, F.W., Masuda, A. y Lillis, J. (2006). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Model, processes and outcomes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(1), 1-25. Doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2005.06.006
Hayes, S.C., Masuda, A., Bissett, R., Luoma, J. y Guerrero, L.F. (2004b). DBT, FAP, and ACT: How empirically Oriented are the new behavior therapy technologies? Behavior Therapy, 35(1), 35-54. Doi: 10.1016/S0005-7894(04)80003-0
Hayes, S.C., Strosahl, K., Wilson, K.G., Bissett, R.T., Pistorello, J., Toarmino, D., Polusny, M.A., Dykstra, T.A., Batten, S.V., Bergan, J., Stewart, S.H., Zvolensky, M.J., Eifert, G.H., Bond, F.W., Forsyth, J.P., Karekla, M. y McCurry, S.M. (2004a). Measuring experiential avoidance: A preliminary test of a working model. The Psychological Record, 54(4), 553-578. Doi: 10.1007/BF03395492
He, F., Deng. Y. y Li, W. (2020). Coronavirus disease 2019: What we know? Journal of Medical Virology, 92(7), 719-725. Doi: 10.1002/jmv.25766
IBM (2013). Statistic Package for Social Sciences (22.0) [Computer software]. IBM Corp.
Juarascio, A., Forman, E., Timko, C.A., Butryn, M. y Goodwin, C. (2011). The development and validation of the Food Craving Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (FAAQ). Eating Behaviors, 12(3), 182-187. Doi: 10.1016/j.eatbeh.2011.04.008
Kashdan, T.B. y Rottenberg, J. (2010). Psychological flexibility as a fundamental aspect of health. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(7), 865-878. Doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.001
Kuman-Tunçel, Ö., Pullukçu, H., Erdem, H.A., Kurtaran, B., Tasbakan, S.E. y Isikgöz-Tasbakan, M. (2020). Covid−related anxiety in people living with HIV: an online cross-sectional study. Turkish Journal of Medical Sciences, 50, 1792-1800. Doi: 10.3906/sag-2006-140
Lillis, J. y Hayes, S.C. (2007). Measuring avoidance and inflexibility in weight related problems. International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 4(1), 30-40. Doi: 10.1037/h0100829
Lundgren, T., Dahl, J. y Hayes, S.C. (2008). Evaluation of mediators of change in the treatment of epilepsy with acceptance and commitment therapy. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 31(3), 225-235. Doi: 10.1007/s10865-008-9151-x
Luoma, J., Drake, C.E., Kohlenberg, B.S. y Hayes, S.C. (2011). Substance abuse and psychological flexibility: The development of a new measure. Addiction Research & Theory, 19(1), 3-13. Doi: 10.3109/16066359.2010.524956
Mellín, M. y Padrós, F. (2021). Estudio psicométrico de la escala AAQ-II de evitación experiencial en población de México. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 21(1), 81-91.
Ong, C.W., Lee, E.B., Levin, M.E. y Twohig, M.P. (2019). A review of AAQ variants and other context-specific measures of psychological flexibility. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 12, 329-346. Doi: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.02.007
Ong, C.W., Pierce, B.G., Woods, D.W., Twohig, M.P. y Levin, M.E. (2019). The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire - II: An item response theory analysis. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 41(1), 123-134. Doi: 10.1007/s10862-018-9694-2
Patrón, F. (2010). La evitación experiencial y su medición por medio del AAQ-II. Enseñanza e Investigación en Psicología, 15(1), 5-19.
Pinto-Gouveia, J., Carvalho, T., Cunha, M., Duarte, J. y Walser, R.D. (2015). Psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-Trauma Specific (AAQ-TS): A study with Portuguese colonial war veterans. Journal of Affective Disorders, 185, 81-89. Doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2015.06.023
Presti, G., McHugh, L. y Hayes, S.C. (2020). The dynamics of fear at the time of COVID: A contextual behavioral science perspective. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 17(2), 65-71. Doi: 10.36131/CN20200206
Ruiz, F.J., Langer H., Á.I. y Luciano, C. (2013). Measuring experiential avoidance and psychological inflexibility: The Spanish version of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II. Psicothema, 25(1), 123-129. Doi: 10.7334/psicothema2011.239
Tanhan, A. Yavuz, K.F., Young, J.S., Nalbant, A., Arslan, G., Yıldırım, M., Ulusoy, S., Genç, E., Uğur, E. y Çiçek, İ. (2020). A proposed framework based on literature review of online contextual mental health services to enhance wellbeing and address psychopathology during COVID. Electronic Journal of General Medicine, 17(6), em254. Doi: 10.29333/ejgm/8316
Valencia, P.D. (2018). El Cuestionario Breve de Evitación Experiencial. Pensando Psicología, 14(24). Doi: 10.16925/pe.v14i24.2412
Wersebe, H., Lieb, R., Meyer, A.H., Hofer, P. y Gloster, A.T. (2018). The link between stress, well-being, and psychological flexibility during an acceptance and commitment therapy self-help intervention. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 18(1), 60-68. Doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2017.09.002
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2024 Psychology and Health