TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychometric evidence of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II)
T2 - an item response theory analysis in university students from Chile
AU - Langer, Álvaro I.
AU - Ponce, Fernando P.
AU - Ordóñez-Carrasco, Jorge L.
AU - Fuentes-Ferrada, Reiner
AU - Mac-Ginty, Scarlett
AU - Gaete, Jorge
AU - Núñez, Daniel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.
PY - 2024/1
Y1 - 2024/1
N2 - Background: Experiential avoidance (EA) is a psychological mechanism associated with several mental health disorders and is regarded as a relevant target by third-generation cognitive behavioral therapies. It has been mainly assessed through self-report questionnaires, and the AAQ-II is the most used tool. Its psychometric evidence has been mostly tested through the classical test theory (CTT) and very scarcely assessed through Item Response Theory (IRT). Methods: We used the Graded Response Model to examine its psychometric properties in Spanish-speaking university students (n = 1503; women = 995 (66.2%), mean age = 19.29, SD = 2.45). We tested whether the empirical data fit the model’s predictions and estimated the dispersion of persons and items along the experiential avoidance continuum. Moreover, we examined category probability curves to identify the response probability of each answer. Likewise, an item-person map was made where the measurement of persons and items, both on the same scale and along the experiential avoidance continuum, could be observed jointly. Finally, we tested the gender invariance of the scale. Results: We found that the values of the individuals and the items were in the established range to be considered an adequate measure of EA. Additionally, we observed high discrimination indices for all items. The current version with seven answer options could not be optimal and should be tested in future studies. Finally, we found evidence of differential functioning by gender in one of the seven items of the instrument. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the AAQ-II is a suitable tool for measuring EA and accurately classifying and differentiating EA levels in university students.
AB - Background: Experiential avoidance (EA) is a psychological mechanism associated with several mental health disorders and is regarded as a relevant target by third-generation cognitive behavioral therapies. It has been mainly assessed through self-report questionnaires, and the AAQ-II is the most used tool. Its psychometric evidence has been mostly tested through the classical test theory (CTT) and very scarcely assessed through Item Response Theory (IRT). Methods: We used the Graded Response Model to examine its psychometric properties in Spanish-speaking university students (n = 1503; women = 995 (66.2%), mean age = 19.29, SD = 2.45). We tested whether the empirical data fit the model’s predictions and estimated the dispersion of persons and items along the experiential avoidance continuum. Moreover, we examined category probability curves to identify the response probability of each answer. Likewise, an item-person map was made where the measurement of persons and items, both on the same scale and along the experiential avoidance continuum, could be observed jointly. Finally, we tested the gender invariance of the scale. Results: We found that the values of the individuals and the items were in the established range to be considered an adequate measure of EA. Additionally, we observed high discrimination indices for all items. The current version with seven answer options could not be optimal and should be tested in future studies. Finally, we found evidence of differential functioning by gender in one of the seven items of the instrument. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the AAQ-II is a suitable tool for measuring EA and accurately classifying and differentiating EA levels in university students.
KW - Experiential avoidance
KW - Item response theory
KW - Psychometric properties
KW - University students
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85186545196&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s40359-024-01608-w
DO - 10.1186/s40359-024-01608-w
M3 - Article
C2 - 38429801
AN - SCOPUS:85186545196
SN - 2050-7283
VL - 12
JO - BMC Psychology
JF - BMC Psychology
IS - 1
M1 - 111
ER -