1. my painful experiences and memories make it difficult for me to live a life that I would value
2. I’m afraid of my feelings
3. I worry about not being able to control my worries and feelings
4. my painful memories prevent me from having a fulfilling life
5. emotions cause problems in my life
6. it seems like most people are handling their lives better than I am
7. worries get in the way of my success
Hayes et al‚ 2004
Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ)
1. I am able to take action on a problem even if I am uncertain what the right thing to do is.*
2. I often catch myself daydreaming about things I’ve done and what I would do differently next time.
3. When I feel depressed or anxious‚ I am unable to take care of my responsibilities.
4. I rarely worry about getting my anxieties‚ worries‚ and feelings under control.*
5. I’m not afraid of my feelings.*
6. When I evaluate something negatively‚ I usually recognize that this is just a reaction‚ not an objective fact.*
7. When I compare myself to other people‚ it seems that most of them are handling their lives better than I do.
8. Anxiety is bad.
9. If I could magically remove all the painful experiences I’ve had in my life‚ I would do so.
* Reverse coded
1. Its OK if I remember something unpleasant.
2. My painful experiences and memories make it difficult for me to live a life that I would value.*
3. I’m afraid of my feelings.*
4. I worry about not being able to control my worries and feelings.*
5. My painful memories prevent me from having a fulfilling life.*
6. I am in control of my life.
7. Emotions cause problems in my life.*
8. It seems like most people are handling their lives better than I am.*
9. Worries get in the way of my success.*
10.My thoughts and feelings do not get in the way of how I want to live my life.
* Reverse coded
Acceptance and Action Questionnaire AAQ I
1. I am able to take action on a problem even if I am uncertain what is the right thing to do. [Use in AAQ-9‚ reverse score. Use in single-factor AAQ-16‚ reverse score. Score in Action factor in two factor AAQ-16 and do not reverse score]
2. When I feel depressed or anxious‚ I am unable to take care of my responsibilities. [Use in AAQ-9. Use in single-factor AAQ-16. Score in Action factor in two factor AAQ-16 and reverse score]
3. I try to suppress thoughts and feelings that I don’t like by just not thinking about them. [Use in single factor AAQ-16. Score in Willingness factor in two factor AAQ-16 and reverse score]
4. It’s OK to feel depressed or anxious. [Use in single factor AAQ-16 and reverse score. Score in Willingness factor on two factor AAQ-16 and do not reverse score]
5. I rarely worry about getting my anxieties‚ worries‚ and feelings under control. [Use in AAQ-9‚ reverse score. Use in single-factor AAQ-16‚ reverse score. Score in Willingness factor in two factor AAQ-16 and do not reverse score]
6. In order for me to do something important‚ I have to have all my doubts worked out. [Use in single-factor AAQ-16. Score in Action factor in two factor AAQ-16 and reverse score]
7. I’m not afraid of my feelings. [Use in AAQ-9‚ reverse score. Use in single-factor AAQ-16‚ reverse score. Score in Willingness factor in two factor AAQ-16]
8. I try hard to avoid feeling depressed or anxious. [Use in single-factor AAQ-16 and do not reverse score. Score in Willingness factor in two factor AAQ-16 and reverse score]
9. Anxiety is bad. [Use in AAQ-9. Use in single-factor AAQ-16. Score in Willingness factor in the two factor AAQ-16 and reverse score]
10.Despite doubts‚ I feel as though I can set a course in my life and then stick to it. [Use in single-factor AAQ-16‚ reverse score. Score in Action factor in two-factor AAQ-16 and do not reverse score]
11.If I could magically remove all the painful experiences I’ve had in my life‚ I would do so. [Use in AAQ-9. Use in single-factor AAQ-16. Score in Willingness factor in the two factor AAQ-16 and reverse score]
12.I am in control of my life. [Use in single-factor AAQ-16‚ reverse score. Score in Action factor in two-factor AAQ-16 and do not reverse score]
13.If I get bored of a task‚ I can still complete it. [Use in two-factor AAQ-16. Score in Action factor]
14.Worries can get in the way of my success. [Reverse score. Use in two-factor AAQ-16. Score in Action factor]
15.I should act according to my feelings at the time. [Reverse score. Use in two-factor AAQ-16. Score in Action factor]
16.If I promised to do something‚ I’ll do it‚ even if I later don’t feel like it. [Use in two-factor AAQ-16. Score in Action factor]
17.I often catch myself daydreaming about things I’ve done and what I would do differently next time. [Use in AAQ-9]
18.When I evaluate something negatively‚ I usually recognize that this is just a reaction‚ not an objective fact. [Use in AAQ-9 – reverse score]
19.When I compare myself to other people‚ it seems that most of them are handling their lives better than I do. [Use in AAQ-9 and in the single factor AAQ-16]
20.It is unnecessary for me to learn to control my feelings in order to handle my life well [Use in the single factor AAQ-16‚ reverse score]
21.A person who is really “together” should not struggle with things the way I do [Use in the single factor AAQ-16. Do not reverse score … actually this is one folks who do not understand ACT are surprised by. Thinking you should never struggle is itself a kind of struggle. Neat that it loads that way]
22.There are not many activities that I stop doing when I am feeling depressed or anxious [Use in the single factor AAQ-16‚ reverse score]
1= never true‚ 2= very seldom true‚ 3= seldom true‚ 4= sometimes true‚ 5= frequently true‚ 6= almost always true‚ 7= always true
This instrument can be found at: http://www.goodmedicine.org.uk/files/assessment‚%20aaq-ii.pdf & http://research.gold.ac.uk/5531/2/AAQ-II_psychometrics_paper_(accepted_version).pdf & http://www.personal.kent.edu/havingdfresco/Resources/mindfulness_sig/documents/AAQ_I_and_%20II.pdf
Hayes‚ S. C.‚ Strosahl‚ K. D.‚ Wilson‚ K. G.‚ Bissett‚ R. T.‚ Pistorello‚ J.‚ et al. (2004). Measuring experiential avoidance: A preliminary test of a working model. The Psychological Record‚ 54‚ 553-578.
Bond‚ F. W. & Bunce‚ D. (2003). The role of acceptance and job control in mental health‚ job satisfaction‚ and work performance. Journal of Applied Psychology‚ 88‚ 1057-1067.
Bond‚ F. W.‚ S. C. Hayes‚ et al. (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.
Wolgast‚ Martin. (2014). What Does the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II) Really Measure? Behavior Therapy 45 ‚ 831–839
Bond‚ F. W.‚ S. C. Hayes‚ et al. (2011). Acceptance and Action Questionnaire Revised. In: Simmons C. A.‚ Lehmann P. (eds). Tools for strengths-based assessment and evaluation‚ New York‚ NY: Springer‚ pp. 150-151. (2013). Google Scholar