Publications internationales Development of the Anxiety Change Expectancy Scale (ACES) and validation in college, community, and clinical samples

Development of the Anxiety Change Expectancy Scale (ACES) and validation in college, community, and clinical samples

David J.A. Dozois and Henny A. Westra

Revue : Behaviour Research and Therapy

a - Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ont., Canada N6G 5C2
b - York University, Canada

Received 6 July 2004; revised 22 December 2004; accepted 28 December 2004. Available online 19 March 2005.


This study investigated the psychometric properties of a newly developed 20-item instrument that assesses one's anticipation of being able to change anxiety: the Anxiety Change Expectancy Scale (ACES). Study 1 evaluated the ACES in undergraduate university students, self-identified as experiencing difficulties with anxiety. Study 2 examined the ACES in a community sample of persons with anxiety difficulties. Study 3 tested the utility of the ACES in predicting treatment change in a group of individuals with generalized anxiety disorder participating in group cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety. Across these samples, the ACES demonstrated excellent internal reliability (coefficient alphas=.89?.92) as well as good convergent, divergent, and factorial validity. The ACES was also significantly predictive of treatment-related changes in somatic anxiety symptoms and worry. The results of these studies provide strong support for the ACES as a reliable and valid measure of expectancies for changing anxiety.

Keywords: Anxiety; Expectancy for change; Efficacy Expectancy; Cognitive behavioral therapy; Hope

Behaviour Research and Therapy - Volume 43, Issue 12 - Pages 1655-1672

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