Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Adversity Appraisal Questionnaire (AAQ)

Appraisal refers to a cognitive process through which individuals perceive and interpret a given event. This study evaluated the factorial structure of the 22-item Adversity Appraisal Questionnaire (AAQ) developed to assess the appraisal styles of an adversity exposed, community sample in response to their experiences with potentially stressful life events. Given that current assessment tools for appraisal are limited by scope and range of appraisal elements, the AAQ was developed as an amalgam of all currently available appraisal measures and includes questions about how adults think and feel about potentially adverse events in their lives. The measure also asks why a given event was or was not impactful or important for the respondent. Exploratory factor analyses (EFA) reliably identified a three-factor solution indicating three broad dimensions of appraisal: Emotional Distress, Perceived Controllability, and Perceived Threat. Internal consistency estimates for subscales were evaluated using Cronbach’s α (Emotional Distress: α = 0.94, Perceived Controllability: α = 0.79, Perceived Threat: α = 0.75). Findings suggested that the AAQ is a psychometrically reliable instrument for assessing adults’ appraisal styles and may be useful in studies requiring a comprehensive measurement of adversity appraisal. To document how the new three appraisal factors might be related to other important mental health cognitive processes, the study also examined the relation to hostile attribution biases as an example. The findings indicated that emotional distress appraisals are associated with hostile attribution biases. Recommendations for future research are provided.