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The Relationship Between Experiential Avoidance and Impulsiveness in a Nonclinical Sample

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 June 2012

Christopher R. Berghoff ,
Andrew M. Pomerantz ,
Jonathan C. Pettibone ,
Daniel J. Segrist  and
David R. Bedwell
Christopher R. Berghoff*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA
Andrew M. Pomerantz
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA
Jonathan C. Pettibone
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA
Daniel J. Segrist
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA
David R. Bedwell
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, USA
*
Address for correspondence: Christopher Berghoff, University at Albany, SUNY, Social Sciences 399, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12222, USA. E-mail: cberghoff@albany.edu
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Abstract

Experiential avoidance (EA) has been connected to various behavioural indicators of psychological distress, implicated in the etiology and maintenance of psychological disorders, and is the target of prevalent psychological treatments. However, the reasons that individuals engage in dysfunctional EA are little understood. One hypothesis focuses on the preference for small, immediate rewards above larger, delayed rewards — in other words, impulsiveness. We examined the relationship of impulsiveness, measured both by self-report and behaviourally, to EA, while statistically controlling for possible confounding variables (i.e., intellectual functioning, gender, ethnicity), in a sample of normal undergraduate participants. Regression analyses suggest a significant relationship exists between EA and self-reported (but not behaviourally measured) impulsiveness. Exploratory analyses indicate nonplanning-type impulsiveness might be the best predictor of EA. Possible confounding variables did not account for a significant amount of variance within either model examined. Thus, support is provided for a theoretically proposed relationship within the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy model of psychopathology between EA and impulsiveness.

Keywords

experiential avoidanceimpulsivenessacceptance and commitment therapy
Type
Standard Papers
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 29 , Issue 1 , March 2012 , pp. 25 - 35
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2012

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