The Spanish version of the Work-related Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (WAAQ)

Full reference: Ruiz, F.J., & Odriozola-González, P. (2014). The Spanish version of the Work-related Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (WAAQ). Psicothema, 26(1), 63-68.

Study type: Adaptation and validation

Background and objectives

Psychological flexibility constitutes the core construct of the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) model, defined as the ability to behave according to what the situation requires to pursue valued goals, even in the presence of challenging private experiences such as thoughts, feelings, physiological sensations, and memories (Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda, & Lillis, 2006). The ACT model proposes that people are more psychologically healthy and perform more effectively when they base their behavior on long-term goals and values, with reduced influence from private experiences in the present moment or immediate situational contingencies.

Extensive empirical evidence has accumulated in recent years supporting the adaptive role of psychological flexibility and its role as a mechanism of change in ACT interventions. In the workplace context specifically, Bond and Hayes (2002) proposed that the "goal-related context sensitivity" feature of psychological flexibility would facilitate more effective workplace performance. Indeed, Bond, Lloyd, and Guenole (2013) identified approximately 20 studies demonstrating that psychological flexibility correlates with and longitudinally predicts a wide range of work-related outcomes, including mental health, better job performance, increased capacity to learn workplace skills, and absence rates.

Previous studies assessed psychological flexibility in the workplace using the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ) or the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire - II (AAQ-II), instruments designed to measure general levels of psychological flexibility averaged across different contexts. However, the ACT model suggests that psychological flexibility is contextually controlled and can therefore vary across contexts. Bond et al. (2013) tested this implication by developing a context-specific measure of psychological flexibility in the workplace (the Work-related Acceptance and Action Questionnaire; WAAQ) and found that this instrument had good psychometric properties and better predicted workplace-specific measures. The present study aimed to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish translation of the WAAQ with a sample of 209 employees and to examine whether it is more strongly associated with workplace-specific measures than a general measure of psychological flexibility.

Method

Participants

The sample consisted of 209 employees from southern Spain, with ages ranging from 18 to 60 years (M = 36.1, SD = 12.13). Fifty-two percent were men. The relative educational level of participants was: 23.4% primary studies, 48.8% mid-level study graduates, and 27.8% college graduates or currently taking university courses. The mean number of years in their current job was 7.94 (SD = 9.68), working 35.5 (SD = 10.82) hours per week. Regarding work schedules, 29.6% worked daytime with a lunch break, 20.2% had an intensive working schedule, 14.8% had flexible hours, 12.3% worked half a day, 10.3% had a fixed shift, and 12.8% had a rotating shift. Regarding working position, 16.7% of participants were in an irregular situation or without compensation, 16.3% were temporary workers, 25.1% had a contract for between 6 months and 5 years, and 41.9% had an indefinite contract. With respect to organizational hierarchy, 79% were line-level workers, 5.9% supervisors, 7.3% middle management, 4.4% managers, and 2.4% corporate managers.

Instrument(s) under study

The Work-related Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (WAAQ) is a 7-item scale that measures psychological flexibility in relation to the workplace. The items reflect the extent to which people can take goal-directed action in the presence of difficult internal experiences (e.g., "I am able to work effectively in spite of any personal worries that I have"; "I can still work very effectively, even if I am nervous about something"; "I can work effectively, even when I doubt myself"). The items are rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (never true) to 7 (always true). Higher scores indicate greater levels of work-related psychological flexibility. The original WAAQ version showed a satisfactory one-factor structure, reliability (mean α = .83), and external, convergent, concurrent, and predictive validity. The instrument was translated into Spanish following the recommendations of Muñiz and Hambleton (1996) using the back-translation method, in which one translator translated the questionnaire into Spanish and a second translator back-translated it into English.

Other outcome measures

The Acceptance and Action Questionnaire - II (AAQ-II) is a general measure of psychological inflexibility consisting of 7 items rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale (ranging from 1 = never true to 7 = always true). Items reflect unwillingness to experience unwanted emotions and thoughts and inability to be in the present moment and behave according to value-directed actions. The Spanish translation by Ruiz, Langer, Luciano, Cangas, and Beltrán (2013) was used, which showed a one-factor structure, good internal consistency (mean α = .88), and discriminant, convergent, and divergent validity.

The Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) is a generic measure of burnout consisting of 16 items rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale. It contains three factors: Emotional Exhaustion, Cynicism, and Professional Efficacy. The Spanish translation by Salanova, Schaufeli, Llorens, Peiró, and Grau (2000) was used, which showed adequate psychometric properties.

The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) is a 15-item, 7-point Likert-type scale that measures work engagement as a construct opposed to burnout. It contains three factors: Vigor, Dedication, and Absorption. The Spanish translation by Salanova et al. (2000) was used, which showed adequate psychometric properties.

The Overall Job Satisfaction Scale (OJS) is a 15-item, 7-point Likert-type scale that provides a general measure of job satisfaction with two factors: Intrinsic Satisfaction and Extrinsic Satisfaction. The Spanish translation by Munduate (1984) was used, which showed good psychometric properties.

The Psychological Empowerment Inventory (PEI) is a 12-item, 7-point Likert-type scale that measures psychological empowerment in a workplace context. It contains four factors of 3 items each: Meaning, Competence, Self-determination, and Impact. For the present study it was translated into Spanish following the back-translation method. The alpha coefficient found in the sample was very good (α = .90), and the subscale alphas were .88 for Meaning, .81 for Competence, .82 for Self-determination, and .78 for Impact.

Data analysis

Internal consistency was explored through corrected item-total correlations and Cronbach's alpha. Mean scores and standard deviations were calculated. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index and Bartlett's sphericity test were computed to determine whether data were suitable for factor analysis. An exploratory factor analysis by principal component analysis was conducted. Finally, Pearson correlations between the WAAQ and other scales were computed. Correlation coefficients were interpreted following Cohen's (1988) suggestions of small (.1), medium (.3), and large (.5).

Results

Item analysis of the WAAQ showed mean scores ranging from 4.93 (SD = 1.38) for Item 4 to 5.53 for Item 1 (SD = 1.51), whereas corrected item-total correlations ranged from .65 (Item 4) to .81 (Item 6). Cronbach's alpha of the WAAQ was .92, indicating very good internal consistency. The total mean score was 36.46 (SD = 8.41). Women's scores were higher (M = 37.48, SD = 8.03) than men's scores (M = 35.5, SD = 8.68), but this difference did not reach statistical significance, t(203) = -1.70, p = .09.

Factor analysis confirmed that data were suitable for factor analysis according to the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin index (.90) and Bartlett's sphericity test (χ² = 933.97, p < .0001). The Spanish translation items of the WAAQ showed good communalities and factor loadings on the main factor ranging from .74 (Item 4) to .86 (Item 6). A clear one-factor solution was found according to the Kaiser criterion. This factor explained 66.79% of the variance in item scores, very similar to the original version data.

Regarding construct validity, the WAAQ showed a small to moderate negative correlation with the AAQ-II (r = -.20), consistent with previous studies. The WAAQ showed a small correlation with the Emotional Exhaustion subscale of the MBI (r = -.18) and a medium correlation with the Cynicism subscale (r = -.29). Higher levels of work-related psychological flexibility were strongly correlated with measures related to job performance (r = .62 with the Professional Efficacy subscale of the MBI, and r = .50 with the Competence subscale of the PEI). WAAQ scores also showed medium to large correlations with work engagement as measured by the UWES (r = .44, .49, .35, and .37, respectively, for total score, Vigor, Dedication, and Absorption). Small correlations were found between the WAAQ and job satisfaction as measured by the OJS (r = .16, .12, and .18, respectively, for total score, extrinsic, and intrinsic satisfaction). Finally, the WAAQ showed small to large correlations with psychological empowerment (r = .38, .33, .50, .23, and .21, respectively, with total-scale score, Meaning, Competence, Self-determination, and Impact).

The AAQ-II revealed somewhat different patterns of correlations from the WAAQ. Specifically, the AAQ-II showed lower correlations than the WAAQ with measures of work efficacy (Professional Efficacy subscale of the MBI and Competence subscale of the PEI) and with work engagement as measured by the UWES. However, the AAQ-II showed higher correlations than the WAAQ with psychological distress as measured by the Emotional Exhaustion subscale of the MBI and with job satisfaction as measured by the OJS.

Discussion and conclusions

The data obtained provide promising evidence that this Spanish translation of the WAAQ is a valid and reliable measure of psychological flexibility in the workplace. Overall, the current data are very similar to those obtained by Bond et al. (2013). Specifically, the results showed that the WAAQ has very good internal consistency (α = .92) and construct validity in that factor analysis led to a clear one-factor solution and correlations were in the expected direction with several work-related measures. Small correlations were found, however, with measures of job satisfaction.

Importantly, the correlation between the WAAQ and AAQ-II was small to moderate, indicating that both instruments are assessing related constructs but the correlation is not so high as to suggest they are assessing the same one. Overall, these findings replicate the Bond et al. (2013) study and are consistent with the ACT model, demonstrating that a work-specific measure of psychological flexibility is more strongly associated with several work-related outcomes than a general measure of the same construct. This supports the hypothesis that psychological flexibility is contextually controlled and therefore variables related to a specific context may best be predicted by a measure of psychological flexibility tailored to that particular context.

Some limitations merit mention. First, the functioning of the WAAQ was tested only in one sample; therefore, further research is necessary to confirm the results obtained. Second, as all data were obtained using self-report measures, relationships among variables might be artificially inflated. Third, given the number of variables that were correlated with the WAAQ and AAQ-II, a potential limitation is the threat of Type I error. To mitigate this threat, the alpha level of significance was set at .01.

Significance and contribution

This Spanish translation of the WAAQ emerges as a reliable and valid measure of psychological flexibility in relation to the workplace. The current findings also highlight the benefits of assessing psychological flexibility in relation to the specific context in which people are being examined. The instrument demonstrates greater predictiveness of specific work-related outcomes than general measures of psychological flexibility, providing a more sensitive tool for researchers and practitioners interested in understanding and improving psychological and occupational functioning in workplace contexts.