Validation of the Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (BEAQ) in a representative Polish sample

Abstract

Aim. The study aimed to validate the Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (BEAQ) in Polish and establish its psychometric properties. Material and methods. A representative sample of the Polish population (N = 1,216) in terms of gender, age, education, and place of residence participated in the online study. The adaptation was conducted with back translation to preserve fidelity to the original version. Apart from BEAQ, participants filled in questionnaires measuring the levels of depression, cognitive fusion, mindfulness and psychological flexibility. Results. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the unidimensional model insufficiently fit the data, similarly to other reports on BEAQ validations. Exploratory factor analysis using oblimin rotation extracted two factors labeled “cognitive-emotional avoidance” and “behavioral avoidance” with internal consistency (α) of 0.78 and 0.74, respectively, and stability over time of r = 0.79 and 0.75 in a 21-day test-retest measurement. The subscales demonstrated satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity. Conclusions. The Polish BEAQ validation demonstrates it is a tool that can be successfully used in research and clinical practice as it provides a reliable measure of experiential avoidance and is convenient thanks to its limited duration.