Psychometric Properties of Scales for Assessing Experiential Avoidance

Abstract

Objective: To study and compare the psychometric properties, reliability, and validity of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) and the Multidimensional Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (MEAQ), which were translated into Thai. Materials and Methods: This study used the AAQ-II and MEAQ, which were back translated into Thai. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were used in conjunction to collect data from 35 graduate students (females 77.1%) and 462 people from the general population of Bangkok (females 74.2%). Result: Item Objective Congruence (IOC) of AAQ-II and MEAQ was 0.79 and 0.87, respectively. Both had high correlation coefficients with DASS-21 and SWLS, indicating criteria-related validity. Moreover, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was also carried out. The correlation coefficient to the original was high (0.96 for AAQ-II and MEAQ, and subscales ranging from 0.83-0.94). They also had high internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha being 0.89 in AAQ-II and 0.92 in MEAQ, with high construct reliability (0.88 and 0.79-0.86). Conclusion: The translated versions of AAQ-II and MEAQ have good psychometric properties. When comparing AAQ-II with MEAQ, it was noted that the correlation between AAQ and other scales was higher than MEAQ, which only had a moderate correlation. AAQ-II also tends to have a high association with distress variables. However, it is still possible to assess experiential avoidance. Thus, the use of each questionnaire will be depended on certain objectives.