Date of Award:

5-2013

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Educational Specialist (EdS)

Department:

Psychology

Committee Chair(s)

Clint E. Field

Committee

Clint E. Field

Committee

Michael P. Twohig

Committee

Jamison Fargo

Abstract

For over 10 years, mental health professionals have used acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help parents in the therapy context. However, to date the field lacks a psychometrically sound measurement tool to assess ACT-pertinent factors within parenting or frameworks. Such a limitation indicates that investigation into the development of an alternative measure is warranted.

In collaboration with Utah State University (USU), Dr. Clint Field, a psychology professor, and Ryan Greene, a USU school psychology student, sought to develop a reliable and valid measure for use with parents that is rooted in the six primary processes theorized to contribute to psychological flexibility. The project’s main purpose was to establish a measure and assess its psychometric properties.

Findings from the project yielded an overall internal consistency value of .84 and an average of .73 among ACT processes measured by the Parental Acceptance Questionnaire (6-PAQ). Results of the confirmatory factor analysis using items included in the final version of the instrument suggested an exceptional overall fit: CFI = .97, TLI = .96, RMSEA = .06 (90% confidence interval = .05-.08), and WRMR = 0.86. Collectively, these results provide preliminary support for the 6-PAQ as an effective measurement tool to assess parental psychological flexibility.

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