2016 Volume 42 Issue 3 Pages 399-411
The present study aimed to develop the Defusion Process Questionnaire (DPQ) and confirm its reliability and validity. First, valid behavior classes (sets of behaviors with similar functions) involved in the defusion behavior process were identified. Then, a new questionnaire comprised of 40 items was developed and completed by college students. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the Defusion Process Questionnaire had a 3-factor pattern with 18 items: “Awareness of Oneself”, “Choice and Acting”, and “Contact with Present Moment”. The analysis indicated that the defusion had 3 “functions.” Cronbach’s α coefficient was sufficiently high, and the questionnaire met the usual standards of convergent validity. Future studies should examine relations among defusion and other behavioral processes relevant to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and various clinical symptoms, in order to develop an understanding of how defusion assuages mental pain.
