Development of a Brief Version of the Social Anxiety – Acceptance and Action Questionnaire

The Social Anxiety – Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (SA-AAQ; MacKenzie and Kocovski 2010) is a 19-item self-report measure designed to assess acceptance and action specific to social anxiety symptoms. The present research was designed to evaluate an abbreviated version of the SA-AAQ. This abbreviated scale was confirmed using an undergraduate sample (N = 148) in Study 1 and a clinical sample of individuals with social anxiety disorder in Study 2 (N = 137). Results indicated that an eight-item, two-factor model (acceptance and action) provided a good fit for the Brief SA-AAQ in both samples. Finally, we also found preliminary evidence in support of the convergent, discriminant/divergent, and incremental validity of the shortened scale. The Brief SA-AAQ shows promise as a useful and brief tool for the measurement of acceptance of social anxiety symptoms in socially anxious populations.