Psychometric Properties of the Japanese Version of the Parental Acceptance and Action Questionnaire in Parents with Infants and Toddlers

We aimed to examine the reliability and validity of the Parental Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-Japanese version (PAAQ-J). We considered a total of 2000 mothers with infants and toddlers aged 0–3 years and evaluated their scores on the PAAQ-J Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). We conducted an exploratory factor analysis, creating a PAAQ-J with 12 items and three factors (α = 0.80): Inaction-Behavior, Inaction-Cognition, and Unwillingness, with α of 0.84, 0.72 and 0.68, respectively. The test-retest reliability examination results showed that the interclass correlation coefficient was 0.49, with 95% CI between 0.44 and 0.54. The correlation coefficient of PAAQ-J was 0.57, 0.32, and 0.33 with AAQ-II, and HADS-depression and HADS-anxiety, respectively. PAAQ-J’s validity to adequately evaluate an individual’s avoidance of experiences regarding childcare and their psychological flexibility was proven. Since the original PAAQ was for 6–18-year-old children with anxiety symptoms, it is necessary to examine its reliability and validity not only for infants and toddlers, but also for parents of older children and adolescents in the future.