Greene, R. L., Field, C. E., Fargo, J. D., & Twohig, M. P. (2015). Development and validation of the parental acceptance questionnaire (6-PAQ). Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 4(3), 170-175.
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to develop the Parental Acceptance Questionnaire (6-PAQ), an instrument measuring the six primary processes theorized to contribute to psychological flexibility among parents. Items were collaboratively developed by a team of experts. Parents (N=181) were recruited from a public elementary school and administered a pilot version of the 6-PAQ, which was refined using psychometric modeling procedures. The final version of the instrument yielded an overall internal consistency reliability coefficient of 0.84 with an average of 0.73 across the six psychological flexibility processes subscales. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis using items from the final version of the 6-PAQ suggested the measurement structure possessed an exceptional overall fit to the data: CFI=0.97, TLI=0.96, RMSEA=0.06 (90% confidence interval=0.05–0.08), and WRMR=0.86. Collectively, these results provide preliminary support for the 6-PAQ as a reliable and valid measure to assess parental psychological flexibility. Empirical and clinical implications of results as well as limitations and future directions are discussed.
Scoring:
The final version of the 6-PAQ is presented in a usable form in the appendix. The measure is completed by one parent or guardian with reference to one child. Scoring involves reversing items 1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 15, and 18, and then summing all items for the total score. Lower scores represent greater parental psychological flexibility whereas higher scores represent greater psychological inflexibility. The subscales are scored as follow: acceptance=items 3, 12, 14; defusion=6, 11, 16; being present=1, 8, 17; self as context=4, 9, 13; values=5, 10, 18; and committed action=2, 7, 15. Clinical norms and cutoffs are not yet available.
The 6-PAQ can be downloaded from the Utah State University ACT Research Group.