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Development and Validation of the Affect Intolerance Scale to Assess Maladaptive Beliefs and Avoidance of Emotion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2014

Lexine A. Stapinski ,
Maree J. Abbott  and
Ronald M. Rapee
Lexine A. Stapinski*
Affiliation:
Centre for Emotional Health, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Maree J. Abbott
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Ronald M. Rapee
Affiliation:
Centre for Emotional Health, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Lexine Stapinski, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 2109, Australia. E-mail: Lexine.Stapinski@mq.edu.au
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Abstract

Cognitive processes are considered integral to the conceptualisation of emotional disorders and distress. Contemporary models have emphasised the importance of individual differences in the interpretation of internal events, including emotions. Maladaptive beliefs about emotional experience may motivate unhelpful control strategies, and impact negatively on psychological wellbeing. Building on existing measures of emotion, an integrative scale was developed to assess a range of maladaptive beliefs about the experience of negative emotions. Psychometric evaluation provided preliminary support for the reliability and validity of the Affect Intolerance Scale (AIS). Furthermore, the scale demonstrated a unique relationship with clinical symptomatology (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress and worry) above and beyond existing measures assessing dimensions of emotional experience. Potential utility of the measure for clinical practice and avenues for future research are discussed.

Keywords

affect intoleranceemotionthreatemotional avoidanceanxietyworry
Type
Standard Papers
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 31 , Issue 3 , September 2014 , pp. 205 - 221
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australian Academic Press Pty Ltd 2014 

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