Psychological Flexibility of Nurses in a Cancer Hospital: Preliminary Validation of a Chinese Version of the Work-related Acceptance and Action Questionnaire

OBJECTIVE: To translate the English work-related acceptance and action questionnaire (WAAQ), make cross-cultural adaptations, and examine its psychometric properties when used by Chinese oncology nurses. METHODS: After translation, the psychometric properties of the Chinese WAAQ were analyzed among 417 nurses, and content validity was determined by six experts. RESULTS: Item-level content validity index (CVI) values were between 0.83 and 1.00; scale-level CVI/universal agreement (S-CVI/UA) and S-CVI/average were 0.86 and 0.98, respectively, which implicated a good content validity. The correlation of the Chinese WAAQ with AAQ-II (r(s) = −0.247, P < 0.001) suggested criterion validity, and those with General Health Questionnaire-12 (−0.250, <0.001) and general self-efficacy scale (0.491, <0.001) and Utrecht work engagement scale (UWES) (0.439, <0.001) suggested convergent validity. Exploratory factor analysis identified a seven-item, one-factor structure of WAAQ. The Chinese version of WAAQ had high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.920), with an item-total correlation coefficient of 0.702–0.828 (P < 0.05), split-half reliability of 0.933, and test-retest reliability of 0.772. CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese WAAQ is a reliable and valid tool for assessing psychological flexibility in Chinese oncology nurses.