El Cuestionario Breve de Evitación Experiencial: ¿una alternativa viable al AAQ-II?

Abstract

Introduction: Experiential avoidance (EA) is a central concept in the study of psychopathology from a contextual-behavioral perspective. The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II (AAQ-II) has become the most commonly used measure of ea. However, some authors have seriously questioned its validity. In this context, the Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (BEAQ) is a promising alternative. Aim: The present study intended to translate the BEAQ into Spanish and analyze its psychometric properties in a Peruvian sample. Materials and methods: The BEAQ was back-translated and a group of experts assessed the quality of the items. The questionnaire was responded by 376 Peruvian university students. The BEAQ-ii items were then subjected to an exploratory factorial analysis. Reliability estimators were also calculated. Results: The results did not support the supposed unidimensional nature of the BEAQ. Moreover, they suggested the presence of two factors called Avoidance of Suffering and Disconnection and Deactivation. Only the Avoidance of Suffering factor showed good reliability and could be easily interpreted. Conclusion: Future research should develop a new measure of ea based on the items of the Avoidance of Suffering factor. It is suggested that researchers continue to use AAQ-II until better measures of experiential avoidance are available.