THE AHES: A SCALE FOR ASSESSING AVOIDANCE OF POSITIVE EMOTIONS IN THE GENERAL POPULATION

Abstract

Study aspires to measure and validate the Avoidance of Happiness Expressions. Items emerged from literature, previously available tools, and content analysis of interviews. Successive rounds of item modifications and the pilot study produces 27- items, administered to (N=320) participants. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) for Avoidance of Happiness Expression Scale (AHES) showed 50.90% variance with 4-factors : Faulty Belief (FB), Emotional Concern (EC), Social Concern (SC), and Interpersonal Concern (IC). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using AMOS-18 affirms the 4-factor model fits well across data. Values for item-analysis ranged from (r = 0.67 - 0.31, p < 0.01). Reliabilities of AHES indicated acceptable ranges for Cronbach alpha (α=.91, **p <.01) and temporal stability for 15-days interval (r = 0.787, **p < 0.01). Construct validity with PANAS-NA (r = 0.309, **p < 0.01), PANAS-PA (r =-0.406, **p < 0.01) and SWLS NA (r = -0.484, **p < 0.01) demonstrates acceptable values. Outcomes of the study indicate that AHES is a multidimensional and self-report instrument with sound psychometric properties to measure levels of avoidance of happiness expressions among the general population.