Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y)

The AFQ was derived from an initial pool of 50 items developed to measure psychological acceptance, conceptualized as an active and multidimensional process involving high or low levels of: willingness to experience private events, values-oriented action, experiential avoidance, and cognitive and emotional fusion. Results of exploratory factor analysis on these initial 50 items supported a three-factor solution. Factor one consisted of 25 items, all negatively worded. Conceptually, this factor seems to tap into experiential avoidance and fusion and is now the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y).

We have used the AFQ with children and adolescents 9-17 years old. Based on results from school studies in middle Tennessee, children report good comprehension of items. The AFQ seems to be a stronger predictor of negative outcomes such as physical and emotional symptoms.

The AFQ-Y is on ruthbaer.com.

Citations:

Greco, L. A., Lambert, W., & Baer, R. A. (2008). Psychological inflexibility in childhood and adolescence: Development and evaluation of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth. Psychological Assessment, 20(2), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.20.2.93

Livheim, F., Tengström, A., Bond, F.W., Andersson, G., Dahl, J. & Rosendahl, I. (2016). Psychometric properties of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth: A psychological measure of psychological inflexibility in youth. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 5(2), 103-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2016.04.001

Renshaw, T.L. (2018). Probing the relative psychometric validity of three measures of psychological inflexibility. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 7, 47-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2017.12.001

Steven Hayes July 2, 2005 - 4:08pm

AFQ-Y - Czech

Suchardová, S. (2023). Krátká intervence ACT jako preventivní program ke zvýšení kognitivní flexibility u žáků středních škol. Thesis: Univerzita Palackého v Olomouci. Retrieved from https://theses.cz/id/yz2xvg/Suchardova__DP.pdf The AFQ-Y Czech version is in the appendix.

Community January 5, 2024 - 1:31pm

AFQ-Y - Dutch Version

Krimmel, K.L. (2015) Het meten van psychologische flexibiliteit: een pilot onderzoek naar de psychometrische eigenschappen van de avoidance and fusion questionnaire bij volwassen patiënten die een bariatrische ingreep ondergaan. Thesis, Universiteit of Twente. The Dutch AFQ-Y is at the end of the article.

Blokzijl, R. (2005). Measuring Acceptance-Related Constructs Among Youngsters: Evaluation of the Dutch Willingness and Action Measure for Children and Adolescents (WAM-C/A) and the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y). Thesis, University of Leiden.

Click here for het Nederlandse taalgebied vertaling gemaakt van de AFQ-Y.

Community June 14, 2021 - 11:58pm

AFQ-Y - Greek Validation

Christodoulou, A., Michaelides, M. P., & Karekla, M. (2018). Greek Version of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth: Psychometric Evaluation and Gender Multigroup Invariance in Adolescents. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 36(8), 844–849. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282917713500
Abstract
The Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth–Eight-Item Short Version (AFQ-Y8) assesses psychological inflexibility in youth. The present study is the first to examine alternative measurement models for the Greek adaptation of the AFQ-Y8, latent associations with the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire–II (AAQ-II), gender-group invariance, and latent mean comparisons between males and females. In total, 432 students from seven high schools in Cyprus participated in the study. Both a unidimensional and a two-dimensional model had excellent fit, although the one-factor solution was substantively superior. The correlation of the latent AFQ-Y8 factor with AAQ-II was strong and positive, indicating good convergent validity. Finally, the unidimensional AFQ-Y8 model was found to be invariant for gender and no latent means difference was detected between males and females.

office_1 April 7, 2020 - 9:15am

AFQ-Y - Italian

Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth

Greco, L.A., Murrell, A.R., & Coyne, L.W. (2005). The Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth. Available from the first author and online at www.contextualscience.org.

Greco, L.A., Lambert, W., & Baer, R.A. (2008). Psychological inflexibility in childhood and adolescence: Development and evaluation of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth. Psychological Assessment, 20(2), 93-102.

Traduzione Italiana (1.0) a cura di Rossi, E., Melchiorri, E., Francesconi, C., Violini, P., Cioci, M., Ristè, N. (2013) AISCC, Gruppo Ricerca ACT.

Traduzione Italiana (2.0) a cura di Melchiorri, E., Rossi, E., Ristè, N., Violini, P., Lijoi, E., (2014) AISCC, Gruppo Ricerca ACT.

Referenza bibliografica: Rossi, E., Melchiorri, E., Violini, P., Lijoi, E., Ristè, N., Panzera, A. (2014). Validation study of the Italian Version of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y). Poster presented at ACBS World Conference 12 Poster Session - Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA - June 17-22, 2014.

Schweiger, M., Ristallo, A., Oppo, A., Pergolizzi, F., Presti, G., & Moderato, P. (2017). Ragazzi in lotta con emozioni e pensieri: la validazione della versione italiana dell’ Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (I-AFQ-Y) [Youths struggling with emotions and thoughts: validation of the Italian version of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (I-AFQ-Y)]. Psicoterapia Cognitiva e Comportamentale, 23(2), 141–162.

Compare, L., Martucci, C., Bernini, O., Cincidda, C. & Berrocal, C. (2021) Proprietà psicometriche dell'Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y) in soggetti di 6-11 anni [Psychometric properties of Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y) in children aged between 6-11]. Psicoterapia Cognitiva e Comportamentale, 27(1), 45-63. https://doi.org/doi:10.14605/PCC2712103

Il presente studio è in corso di aggiornamento.

Per informazioni: segreteria@aiscc.it – www.aiscc.it

AISCC - ACT Re… November 20, 2015 - 6:15pm

AFQ-Y - Japanese

Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y) is a measure of the psychological inflexibility of adolescents from childhood to adolescence.
There are 17 items AFQ-Y and 8 items shortened version AFQ-Y8. AFQ-Y has a one-factor structure.

Ishizu, K., Shimoda, Y., & Ohtsuki, T. (2014) Developing the scale regarding psychological inflexibility in Japanese early adolescence.
Poster presented at 30th Annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity, Honolulu

The AFQ-Y Japanese Version is on the ACBS Japan Chapter website.

Community July 22, 2021 - 11:09pm

AFQ-Y - Persian Adaptation

Shabani, M., Mohsenabadi, H., Zanjani, Z., Assarian, F. (2019). Evaluation of psychometric properties of Persian version of Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ – Y). Journal of Fundamentals of Mental Health, 21(5), 325-333. http://doi.org/10.22038/jfmh.2019.14804

Hekmati, I. et al (2020) Persian adaptation of avoidance and fusion questionnaire for youth (AFQ-Y): A preliminary examination of its psychometric properties. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 17, 46-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2020.05.004

Community June 8, 2021 - 1:45pm

AFQ-Y - Portuguese

Cunha, M. & Santos, A.M. (2011) Avaliação da Inflexibilidade Psicológica em Adolescentes: Estudo das qualidades psicométricas da versão portuguesa do Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y). Laboratório de Psicologia, 9(2), 133-146. Retrieved from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/235397938.pdf

Cunha, M., Oliveira, S., Coimbra, M. et al. (2023). Assessing Psychological Inflexibility in Adolescents: A Validation Study of the Portuguese Short Version of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth. Child Youth Care Forum, 52, 123–138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-022-09679-9

Community June 14, 2021 - 11:48pm

AFQ-Y - Spanish Validation

Se presenta la versión española validada del Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y).
El texto completo de la validación se puede encontrar en:
Valdivia-Salas, S., Martín-Albo, Zaldívar, P.J.L., Lombas, S., & Jiménez, T.I. (2017). Spanish validation of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth. Assessment, 24(7), 919-931. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191116632338

Salaza, D.M. et al (2019) Psychometric properties of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire – Youth in Colombia. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 12, 305-313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2018.11.008

García-Rubio, C., Lecuona, O., Blanco Donoso, L. M., Cantero-García, M., Paniagua, D., & Rodríguez-Carvajal, R. (2020). Spanish validation of the short-form of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire (AFQ-Y8) with children and adolescents. Psychological Assessment, 32(4), e15–e27. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000801

Sonsoles Valdivia March 22, 2017 - 11:44am

AFQ-Y - Swedish

Detta test mäter det psykologiska konstruktet ”psykologisk inflexibilitet”, eller dess motsats ”psykologisk flexibilitet” om man vänder på numreringen. Testet är framtaget för ungdomar 12-18 år. Men har även visat sig fungera bra för vuxna. Både AFQ-Y8 samt den längre versionen, AFQ-Y17 finns validerade för svenska förhållanden. I denna artikel finns testets psykometriska egenskaper beskrivna. En konklusion i denna artikel är att AFQ-Y8 är att föredra. I denna artikel summeras även all forskning internationell forskning som är gjord och vetenskapligt publicerad på AFQ-Y till och med januari 2016. Både forskning på unga och vuxna. Du hittar AFQ-Y8 här och AFQ-Y17 här.

Referenser:
[1] Livheim, F., Tengström, A., Bond, F. W., Gerhard Andersson, G., Dahl, J. & Rosendahl, I. (2016). Psychometric Properties of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth: A Psychological Measure of Psychological Inflexibility in youth. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 5(2), 103-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2016.04.001
Se länk till artikeln här.

[2] Thorsell Cederberg, J., Weineland, S., Dahl, J., Ljungman,G. (2018) A preliminary validation of the Swedish short version of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y8) for children and adolescents with cancer. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 10, 103-107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2018.09.004

Community June 15, 2021 - 10:51am

AFQ-Y8 - Chinese

Chen Yanhong, Zhao Ying, Duan Yanmei, Bai Xiaoyu, Wang Shujuan, & Zhu Zhuohong. (2019). 青少年回避与融合问卷简版的信效度分析 [Reliability and validity analysis of the short version of the adolescent avoidance and fusion questionnaire]. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 27(6), 1192-1195, 1114.

Community July 29, 2021 - 10:02pm

AFQ-Y8 - Korean Validation

Seong-Hye Choi (아주대학교), Eun-Jung Kim(아주대학교) (2016) Psychological Inflexibility in Korean Children and Adolescents : Validation of the Korean Version of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth-Eight Item Type (K-AFQ-Y8). Korean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 35(3), 600 - 614.

Choi Seong-Hye, Kim Eun-Jeong (2015) Assessing Psychological Inflexibility in Childhood and Adolescence : Validation of the Korean Version of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth(K-AFQ-Y). Congnitive Behavior Therapy in Korea, 15(3), 595 - 617.

Community May 21, 2021 - 12:42pm

AFQ-Y8- Turkish Version

Büyüköksüz, E. (2025). The Turkish Validation of the Short Form of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire (AFQ-Y8): Factor Structure, Measurement Invariance, and Incremental Validity. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2024.100864

Büyüköksüz, E., & Erözkan, A. (2019). Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire –Youth 8 (AFQ-Y8): Factor Structure and Reliability Studies in Turkish Culture. Journal of Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy and Research. 8(Supplement 1): 3-7.

Büyüköksüz, E., & Erözkan, A. (2019). Kaçınma ve Birleşme Ölçeği-Gençler 8 (KBÖ-G8): Türk Kültüründe Faktör Yapısı ve Güvenirlik Çalışmaları. Journal of Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy and Research. 8(Supplement 1): 3-7.

engin.buyukoksuz September 24, 2021 - 4:49am

Revised Avoidance & Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y; Greco, Murrell, & Coyne, 2005)

The Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y; Greco, Murrell, & Coyne, 2005) is a 17-item measure that asks respondents to rate how true each item is for them (0 = Not at All True; 4 = Very True). Items are tied to ACT’s model of human suffering and were generated to represent a theoretically cohesive conceptualization of psychological inflexibility fostered by: (1) Cognitive fusion (e.g., “My thoughts and feelings mess up my life,” “The bad things I think about myself must be true”); (2) Experiential avoidance (e.g., “I push away thoughts and feelings that I don’t like”); and (3) Inaction or behavioral ineffectiveness in the presence of unwanted internal experiences (e.g., “I can’t be a good friend when I feel upset”).

Consistent with the theory underlying acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), items converged into a 17-item scale (AFQ-Y) and an 8-item short form (AFQ-Y8). Results of classical test theory, factor analysis, and item response theory support the psychometric properties of the 17-item version of the AFQ-Y and AFQ-Y8. Overall, research suggests that the AFQ-Y may be a useful and child-friendly measure of core ACT processes.

Reference

laurieagreco January 23, 2006 - 4:12pm