Brief Description
The Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (BEAQ) is a self-report measure designed to assess experiential avoidance—the tendency to evade unwanted internal experiences such as thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations, even when doing so may cause harm in the long-term. Respondents rate how true each statement is for them (e.g., “I try hard to avoid feeling depressed or anxious”) using a 6 point Likert scale ranging from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree”. The BEAQ is commonly used to identify patterns of emotional avoidance relevant to various psychological concerns, including anxiety, depression, and maladaptive coping behaviors.
Assessment Administration Type
Self-report
Number of questions
15
Age Range for Administration
18+
Recommended Frequency of Administration
No recommended standard frequency; Blueprint recommends monthly or as clinically indicated to track experiential avoidance over time.
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
Each item is rated on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (“Strongly disagree”) to 6 (“Strongly agree”). Question 6 (“Fear or anxiety won’t stop me from doing something important”) is reverse scored.
Response | Score |
Strongly Disagree | 1 |
Moderately Disagree | 2 |
Slightly Disagree | 3 |
Slightly Agree | 4 |
Moderately Agree | 5 |
Strongly Agree | 6 |
Total scores range from 15 to 90, with higher scores indicating greater experiential avoidance. The BEAQ has no subscales. While no universally agreed-upon clinical cutoffs have been established, higher scores may indicate elevated psychological inflexibility and avoidance behavior, which can be clinically relevant to measure over time.
Blueprint Adjustments
Blueprint automatically labels total scores by quartiles unless otherwise indicated; clinicians should ignore the total score interpretation shown in Blueprint and instead consider individual change over time.
Clinical Considerations
Estimated completion time: 4-8 minutes
The BEAQ is not intended to diagnose any mental health condition. Instead, it helps identify avoidance tendencies that may underlie or maintain other psychological symptoms.
The BEAQ may be used to monitor progress over time in therapy, particularly when experiential avoidance is a treatment target. The BEAQ may serve as an especially helpful tool when practicing ACT and DBT given that experiential avoidance is a target of change in these frameworks.
Experiential avoidance is a process associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and externalizing disorders.
Ensure the client can understand the language used in the items. While the BEAQ is relatively straightforward, certain terms (e.g., “inner feelings,” “emotional experiences”) may need clarification for some individuals.
Citation
Gámez, W. R., Chmielewski, M., Kotov, R., Ruggero, C., & Watson, D. (2014). Development of a measure of experiential avoidance: The Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire. Psychological Assessment, 26(1), 35–45. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034473
Relevant Articles + Further Resources
We're here for you!
Do you have follow-up questions? We're here and happy to help!
Send us an email at help@blueprint-health.com or use the help messenger in the lower right corner to speak with our Support team. 💪🏼