Development and validation of the parental acceptance questionnaire (6-PAQ)

The purpose of this study was to develop the Parental Acceptance Questionnaire (6-PAQ), an instalment measuring the six primary processes theorized to contribute to psychological flexibility among parents. Items were collaboratively developed by a team of experts. Parents (N 181) were recruited from a public elementary school and administered a pilot version of the 6-PAQ which was refined using psychometric modeling procedures. The final version of the instrument yielded an overall internal consistency reliability coefficient of 0.84 with an average of 0.73 across the six psychological flexibility processes sub scales. Results of a confirmatory factor analysis using items from the final version of the 6-PAQ suggested the measurement structure possessed an exceptional overall fit to the data: CR=0.97, TU=0.96, RMSEA = 0.06 (90% confidence interval =0.05-0.08), and WRMR=0.86. Collectively, these results provide preliminary support for the 6-PAQ as a reliable and valid measure to assess parental psychological flexibility. Empirical and clinical implications of results as well as limitations and future directions are discussed. (C) 2015 Association for Contextual Behavioral Science. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.