2018 Volume 27 Issue 1 Pages 12-20
The present study examined the associations between experiential avoidance and stress coping, and the role of experiential avoidance in predicting psychological stress responses. Undergraduates (N=357, 119 men) completed the Japanese version of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-J), Tri-Axial Coping Scale-24 (TAC-24), and Stress Response Scale-18 (SRS-18). Exploratory factor analysis was conducted by combining TAC-24 and AAQ-J items. From the results, 2 independent factors related to experiential avoidance and 7 independent factors related to stress coping behaviors were extracted. Moreover, hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted by entering TAC-24 scores in Step 1 and AAQ-J scores in Step 2 with SRS-18 scores as the dependent variable. Results indicated that the AAQ-J scores predicted scores on each SRS-18 subscale. These results suggest that the concept of experiential avoidance is different from that of stress coping and that experiential avoidance is related to the psychological stress responses.
