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)

Abstract

Psychological inflexibility is an important construct that has gained much attention recently as a critical mechanism of psychopathology in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). This current study aimed to validate the Korean version of the Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth-Eight item type (AFQ-Y8; Greco, Lambert & Baer, 2008), which is a child-report measure of psychological inflexibility. Elementary and middle school students completed the K-AFQ-Y8, Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), Youth Self-Report (YSR), Concise Measure of Subjective Well-Being (COMOSWB), Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ), and White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI). The K- FQ-Y8 showed adequate reliability and was fitted for a one-factor measurement model. The K-AFQ-Y8 positively correlated with thought suppression, anxiety, depression, somatic complaint, and problem behavior, and negatively with acceptance and subjective well-being. Even after removing the effects of acceptance and thought suppression, the K-AFQ-Y8 correlated significantly, as expected, with all measures. These results support the convergent and construct validity of the K-AFQ-Y8. Overall, the results suggest that the K-AFQ-Y8 is a useful child-report measure of psychological inflexibility, and psychological inflexibility may be a critical factor of psychopathology and the quality of life in Korean children and adolescents. Finally, the implication and limitation of this study, as well as possible suggestions for future study were discussed.