Language
English
Publication Date
1-1-2025
Journal
Journal of Personality Assessment
DOI
10.1080/00223891.2024.2350466
PMID
38776435
PMCID
PMC11582082
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
1-1-2026
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Abstract
The Approach-Avoidance Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ) is a well-established measure assessing heightened sensitivity and reactivity to reward / positive stimuli (approach temperament) and to punishment / negative stimuli (avoidance temperament). These basic dimensions of personality are believed to be important for understanding the etiology and maintenance of anxiety and depressive disorders. Despite the ATQ’s potential utility in clinical psychology research, its psychometric properties and factor structure have yet to be examined in a psychiatric sample. The aims of the present study were to 1) conduct confirmatory factor analysis to replicate the ATQ’s factor structure in individuals diagnosed with an anxiety or depressive disorder (N = 244), 2) assess internal consistency and convergent and divergent validity, and 3) explore differences in approach and avoidance temperaments in individuals with versus without a diagnosis of anxiety or depression. Results confirmed the original two-factor structure of the ATQ in a clinical sample, with approach and avoidance temperaments representing orthogonal dimensions. The measure demonstrated strong internal consistency, convergent and divergent validity, and predictive validity. Individuals with anxiety and depression scored higher on avoidance items and lower on approach items compared to those without clinical diagnoses. This study supports the use of the ATQ in clinical populations.
Keywords
Humans, Temperament, Female, Male, Adult, Surveys and Questionnaires, Psychometrics, Reproducibility of Results, Middle Aged, Young Adult, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Anxiety, Anxiety Disorders, Depressive Disorder, Adolescent, Depression
Published Open-Access
yes
Recommended Citation
Madeleine Rassaby, Jeffrey M Rogers, and Charles T Taylor, "Validation of the Approach-Avoidance Temperament Questionnaire in Individuals with Anxiety and Depression" (2025). Faculty, Staff and Students Publications. 8647.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/8647