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Treatment - Mindfulness & Acceptance

The Development and Validation of the Experiential Avoidance Rating Scale: A Self-report Questionnaire that Might Actually Measure Experiential Avoidance

(PS14-64) The Development and Validation of the Experiential Avoidance Rating Scale: A Self-report Questionnaire That Might Actually Measure Experiential Avoidance

Sunday, November 17, 2024
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM EST
Location: Franklin Hall, Level 4, Marriott Downtown
Abstract Text: Within the framework of acceptance and commitment therapy, experiential avoidance, or the problematic unwillingness to remain in contact with distressing thoughts or emotions when such avoidance results in a constricted life, is a key process of psychopathology. Despite the importance of experiential avoidance for understanding a range of mental health concerns in diverse populations, serious concerns have been raised regarding the validity of popular measures of this construct. In the present study. we developed and psychometrically examined a new “experiential avoidance rating scale” (EARS) to address some of the psychometric concerns with existing measures. Candidate items were generated according to the original functional contextual ACT definition of experiential avoidance and reviewed by experts and lay people/community members for content validity and readability. Items then underwent validation involving n = 3628 participants. Data were collected in a multisite endeavor spanning various regions of the USA (Hawaiian Islands, Southern Midwest, Deep South, Intermountain West, and Northern Midwest) and diverse ethnicities (White, Asian or Asian American, Black, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and multiracial). Within a multi-sample cross validation approach, exploratory factor analyses (n = 1069) identified six items from a pool of approximately 30 with good underlying common variance within a unidimensional factor structure. Subsequent confirmatory factor analyses from college student (n = 1068) and community samples (n = 1413) demonstrated excellent fit. In all samples, the EARS demonstrated evidence of content, factorial, concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity. The EARS also demonstrated evidence of incremental validity by predicting significant additional variance above-and-beyond neuroticism and extant experiential avoidance measures in depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, alcohol use problems, and general mental health measures. Measurement invariance analyses indicated that the EARS demonstrated residual (strict) invariance between cisgender men and women; clinical and non-clinical participants; White Non-Hispanic, White Hispanic, Black, and Asian participants; and heterosexual and bisexual individuals. Our findings reveal that the EARS demonstrates promise as a brief measure of experiential avoidance and is worthy of further investigation, particularly as a process measure within transdiagnostic treatments that target experiential avoidance. Developing and refining self-report measures that can reliably and validly measure experiential avoidance across a range of diverse populations and settings will ultimately further our mission of improving measurement-based care for individuals suffering from a range of mental health conditions.