Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Behavioral Sciences

Author ORCID Identifier

Caleb D. Farley https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0547-092X

Tyler L. Renshaw https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3087-5126

Volume

15

Issue

2

Publisher

MDPI AG

Publication Date

2-12-2025

Journal Article Version

Version of Record

First Page

1

Last Page

36

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Abstract

Validating measures of psychological flexibility (PF) and psychological inflexibility (PI) has occurred in multiple adult samples, but little research has validated PF and PI measures with adolescents. This manuscript describes two studies exploring the validity of responses to the Multidimensional Psychological Flexibility Inventory (MPFI) with two samples of adolescents. The first study used exploratory factor analyses on responses to the MPFI with a sample of 16–17-year-olds (N = 249). The results yielded a reduced and simplified measurement model that consisted of two general factors: one for PF and the other for PI. These exploratory findings were further investigated with confirmatory factor analyses in the second study, with a larger sample of 14–17-year-olds (N = 503). The results from the second study generally confirmed the factor model from the first study. Findings from both studies showed that scores derived from the reduced MPFI measurement model evidenced convergent and divergent validity with a variety of mental health criterion measures. Moreover, findings from the second study showed that PF and PI scores had differential predictive power on different concurrent mental health outcomes. This discussion highlights the implications of measuring PF and PI in adolescents, considers limitations of the present studies, and recommends next steps for research.

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