Exercise Behavior and the
Acceptance & Action Questionnaire for Exercise (AAQ-Ex)
Research Question
Does a context-specific measure of
psychological flexibility describe and
predict exercise behavior better than
existing instruments?
Background
• As reflected by the prevalence of obesity and weightrelated diseases, many individuals stand to benefit
from regular exercise but find it aversive and avoid it.
• Psychological flexibility (PF) is one’s willingness to
remain in contact with aversive thoughts, emotions,
memories, and physical sensations in the service of
chosen values (Hayes et al., 1999). PF may impact
willingness to approach and sustain exercise
behavior in the face of aversive private experiences.
• Context-specific measures of PF do a better job of
predicting and explaining the behavior within their
domain of interest (Gregg et al., 2007; Sandoz, 2010).
• The current study seeks to validate an exercisespecific measure of psychological flexibility,
examining its internal reliability, as well as its
concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity.
Method
• 322 undergraduate students at a Midwestern
university completed an online questionnaire.
• Gender
66.8% female
• Age
M = 22.37, SD = 6.91
Ranged from 18 – 55
75.3% were 18 – 22
• Ethnicity
83.2% White
9.6% Asian
6.5% Black or African American
6.5% Hispanic or Latino/Latina
2.5% American Indian or Alaskan Native
0.6% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific
Islander
Sarah B. Staats, BA & Robert D. Zettle, Ph.D
Wichita State University
Correlations
AAQ-Ex
AAQ-Ex
AAQ-II
BI-AAQ
DTS
.40**
.39**
-.14**
BMI
.20**
-.04__
.29**
.09__
Days per week
exercised
Difference
between actual
and ideal days per
week exercised
-.55**
-.13*_
-.02__
-.04__
.41**
.23**
.18**
.00__
Current level
of physical
fitness
-.49**
-.24**
-.34**
.10__
Difference
between actual
and ideal level of
physical fitness
.29**
.19**
.34**
-.13*_
16__
15__
2__
-.30**
-.05__
-.03__
-.06__
p < .01*, p < .001**
% Variance Accounted For
AAQ-Ex
AAQ-II
BI-AAQ
DTS
Number of hours
of physical
exertion each
week
4__
0__
8__
1__
30__
2__
0__
0__
17__
5__
3__
0__
24__
6__
12__
1__
8__
4__
12__
2__
9__
0__
0__
0__
Measures
Results
Discussion
• Acceptance & Action Questionnaire II (AAQ-II)
Measure of psychological flexibility;
related to multiple domains of wellbeing and successful working (Bond et
al., 2011)
• Body Image – Acceptance & Action
Questionnaire (BI-AAQ)
Measure of body image flexibility;
related to body image dissatisfaction
and disordered eating (Sandoz, 2010)
• Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS)
Measure of emotional distress
tolerance; related to mood/state
acceptance (Simons & Gaher, 2005)
• Body Mass Index (BMI)
Composite of height and weight;
indicates body fatness for most people
(CDC, 2011)
• Four items with low item-total correlations
were removed from the original scale in
order to increase internal reliability and face
validity, Cronbach’s α = .90.
• Descriptives for 11-item AAQ-Ex
Overall M = 30.40, SD = 12.85
Female M = 32.40, SD = 12.92
Male M = 26.36, SD = 11.76
Significant gender difference,
p < .001
Observed range: 11 – 72
(11 – 77 possible)
• The AAQ-Ex does a better overall job of
predicting relevant behavior (see correlation
matrix above).
• Yes! It does do a better job.
• This context-specific measure of exerciserelated psychological flexibility possesses
strong internal reliability and different
norms for males and females.
• Performs better at predicting relevant,
concurrent behavior than does the general
AAQ-II or other measures.
• Possesses discriminant validity, shown by
its moderate correlations with neighboring
instruments.
• An important tool for researchers and
clinicians working with exercise behavior.
• Future research should replace selfreported with observed exercise behavior.
AAQ-Ex: Below you will find a list of statements. Please rate how true each statement is for
you by circling a number next to it. Use the scale below to make your choice.
1
Never true
2
3
Very seldom Seldom true
true
4
5
6
7
Sometimes
true
Frequently
true
Almost
always true
Always true
Though I could make a spot for exercise in my schedule, the
thought of adding another responsibility is too distressing.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
My negative thoughts about exercise prevent me from
exercising.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Notes:
The AAQ-Ex is a one-factor
solution according to
Velicer’s Minimum Average
Partial (MAP) test. This
means there are no
“subscales.”
The reference for this
poster, questionnaire, and
accompanying information
will be…
In order to work out, I need to feel like it.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I do not take care of my physical fitness, because it reminds me
that I am not fit.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The feeling of sweat trickling down my face and back when I
exercise grosses me out.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I feel awkward about going to a gym where others will see me
exerting myself.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Because I feel like I'll never get in shape, there doesn't seem to
be much point in trying.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
My exercise routine takes place regardless of how I feel on any
given day.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The unpleasant, burning sensation in my muscles is too much
for me to bear during exercise
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I avoid thinking about working out because it reminds me that I
have neglected to exercise.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Staats, S.B., & Zettle, R.D.
(2012, July). Exercise
behavior and the
Acceptance and Action
Questionnaire for Exercise
(AAQ-Ex). Poster session
presented at the meeting of
the Association for
Contextual Behavioral
Science, Washington, DC.
The whole process around exercising is too big a hassle.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sarahbethstaats@gmail.com