Psy-Flex: A contextually sensitive measure of psychological flexibility

• Published in: Journal of contextual behavioral science Vol. 22; pp. 13 - 23
• Main Authors: Gloster, Andrew T., Block, Victoria J., Klotsche, Jens, Villanueva, Jeanette, Rinner, Marcia T.B., Benoy, Charles, Walter, Marc, Karekla, Maria, Bader, Klaus
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.10.2021
• Subjects: Clinical; Context; Non-clinical; Psychological flexibility; Psychometric; Validity; Context; Clinical; Validity; Psychological flexibility; Non-clinical; Psychometric
• ISSN: 2212-1447; 2212-1455
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2021.09.001

Psychological flexibility is increasingly studied in various contexts including clinical studies. The construct has been hypothesized to be a major determinant of mental health. Existing measures lack context-sensitivity (e.g, implicitly measuring it as a trait) and/or reference to a limited time frame. We developed a short self-report measure that covers all facets of the construct and is context-sensitive. Data was collected from four separate samples (n = 744), including a community (n = 346), non-clinical (n = 188), and two clinical (n = 163 in- and outpatients and n = 47 inpatients) samples from a psychiatric hospital. Confirmatory Factor Analysis confirmed a one-factor structure with excellent reliability (Raykov's r = 0.91). Correlations with related (such as other measures of psychological flexibility and symptomatology) and unrelated constructs (such as age and sex) were all consistent with predictions. The Psy-Flex differentiated clinical and non-clinical samples and predicted unique variance in well-being. The Psy-Flex is an easily administrable questionnaire, useful in research and clinical settings. Its context-sensitive nature makes it applicable to repeated administrations aimed at capturing change. •The Psy-Flex assesses all six ACT skills in an easy to administer process measure.•Items are measured in a time- and context-sensitive manner.•Psychometric analysis showed an unifactorial construct with good convergent and incremental validity.•The Psy-Flex is associated with clinical functioning and can discriminate clinical and non-clinical samples.