Acceptance and Action Questionnaire – II Confirmatory factor analysis and measurement invariance between Non-Hispanic White and Hispanic/Latinx undergraduates

The AAQ-II is a widely used measure of experiential avoidance, which is defined as an unwillingness to experience aversive private events (i.e. body sensations, emotions, thoughts). Previous studies examining the AAQ-II's psychometric properties have found broad support for a one factor model. However, only one study has examined the factor structure among Hispanic/Latinx (H/L) individuals, and no study has tested for measurement invariance in this group. Measurement invariance is an important consideration, as it is a requirement for score comparisons between distinct samples. Therefore, the current study sought to test a one factor model and measurement invariance in a large sample of H/L and Non-Hispanic White (NHW) individuals attending a large university in the Southwest of the United States. Confirmatory factor analyses found a one factor structure to fit adequately in the entire sample, as well as within the H/L and NHW groups separately. Tests of measurement invariance found the one factor structure to be invariant across racial/ethnic groups. Correlational analyses found higher AAQ-II scores to be moderately associated with worse social functioning, depression, anxiety, stress, and self-compassion, and weakly associated with worse physical functioning and dispositional mindfulness. These findings suggest that the one factor model is appropriate and can be used for score comparison between H/L and NHW individuals.