The present study describes the development of a short, general measure of experiential avoidance, based on a specific theoretical approach to this process. A theoretically driven iterative exploratory analysis using structural equation modeling on data from a clinical sample yielded a single factor comprising 9 items. A fully confirmatory factor analysis upheld this same 9-item factor in an independent clinical sample. The operational characteristics of the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ) were then examined in 8 additional samples. All totaled, over 2,400

Group cognitive therapy (CT), focused expressive psychotherapy (FEP; a form of group experiential psychotherapy), and supportive, self-directed therapy (S/SD) were compared among 63 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Variation among patients' coping styles (externalization) and defensiveness (resistance potential) was used in a prospective test of hypothesized differential treatment-patient interactions. Results suggest that patient characteristics can be used differentially to assign psychotherapy types. Externalizing depressed patients improved more than nonexternalizing depressed patients in CT, whereas nonexternalizing (internalizing) patients improved most in S/SD. Conversely, high defensive (resistant) patients improved more in S/SD than in either FEP or CT, whereas low defensive patients improved more in CT than in S/SD.

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