Acceptance and Action Questionnaire – Stigma (AAQ-S)
Measures psychological flexibility and inflexibility in relation to stigmatizing and prejudicial thoughts.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire – Stigma (AAQ-S) was developed by Michael E. Levin, Jason B. Luoma, Jason Lillis, Steven C. Hayes, Roger Vilardaga (2014). It is designed to measure Psychological flexibility with stigmatizing thoughts. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 21 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Psychological Inflexibility, Psychological Flexibility.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Psychological Inflexibility | 1,4,6,7,8,9,13,15,16,20,21 | 11 |
| Psychological Flexibility | 2,3,5,10,11,12,14,17,18,19 | 10 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Never true, 2 = Very seldom true, 3 = Seldom true, 4 = Sometimes true, 5 = Frequently true, 6 = Almost always true, 7 = Always true.
The scale includes 10 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 21 to 147. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Psychological Inflexibility: 21 – 63
- Moderate Psychological Inflexibility: 64 – 105
- High Psychological Inflexibility: 106 – 147
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Not specified in source text.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.