The DOI matches its Crossref record; 141 of the 143 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Acceptance and Commitment: Implications for Prevention Science
Open accessAbstract
Recent research in behavior analysis and clinical psychology points to the importance of language processes having to do with the control of negative cognition and emotion and the commitment to valued action. Efforts to control unwanted thoughts and feelings, also referred to as experiential avoidance (EA), appear to be associated with a diverse array of psychological and behavioral difficulties. Recent research shows that interventions that reduce EA and help people to identify and commit to the pursuit of valued directions are beneficial for ameliorating diverse problems in living. These developments have the potential to improve the efficacy of many preventive interventions. This paper reviews the basic findings in these areas and points to some ways in which these developments could enhance the impact of preventive interventions.
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“and studies of CBT demonstrate improvement in depression, anxiety, and negative affect,65,72”
From Are smoking cessation treatments associated with suicidality risk? An overview (2016) · cites this paper as [65]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“On the other hand, what is considered as a key factor in social anxiety disorder (Biglan, Hayes, & Pistorello, 2008) and leads to the continuation or persistence and intensification of the disorder is lack of psychological flexibility”
From Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Interpersonal Problemsand Psychological Flexibility in Female High School Students With Social Anxiety Disorder (2015) · cites this paper as Biglan, Hayes, & Pistorello, 2008
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“More so than for its effectiveness, we included ACT in this study as ACT is explicitly aligned with many elements of both mental health dimensions.”
From Both positive mental health and psychopathology should be monitored in psychotherapy: Confirmation for the dual-factor model in acceptance and commitment therapy (2017) · cites this paper as Biglan, Hayes, & Pistorello, 2008
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“A powerful possible target for a transdiagnostic prevention approach is psychological flexibility,17–19”
From Feasibility of a Prototype Web-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Prevention Program for College Students. (2014) · cites this paper as [17]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“The unique and ultimate goal of ACT is to promote one’s psychological flexibility as a critical process of human adaptation and well-being [20].”
From Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Destructive Experiential Avoidance (ACT-DEA): A Feasibility Study (2022) · cites this paper as [20]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“there is an extensive literature base demonstrating that this adaptive skill set is broadly beneficial to individual health and functioning [50] (including anxiety, depression, physical health outcomes, satisfaction with life, and work performance [47,72,103]).”
From Evaluation of an App-Delivered Psychological Flexibility Skill Training Intervention for Medical Student Burnout and Well-being: Randomized Controlled Trial (2023) · cites this paper as [103]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“It was also demonstrated that flexibility ameliorates the negative consequences of stressors on mental health [76,77].”
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“It can also be considered central to human adaptation, well-being, and life satisfaction [76,77].”
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“We believe that EA is a negative reinforcement process [49].”
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“These studies also showed that the improvements in treatment groups were explained (mediated) by a common mechanism of action, reduced emotional and cognitive avoidance.16”
From Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for adult type 1 diabetes management: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial (2018) · cites this paper as [16]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Correlational and experimental evidence indicates that experiential avoidance, as the converse of acceptance, contributes to the development and maintenance of different psychological and behavioral problems [32].”
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“A diathesis-stress model of experiential avoidance has been proposed, suggesting that experiential avoidance makes people vulnerable to stressors, in that individuals who typically try to avoid internal distressing experiences may continue this approach when faced with stressful life events (Biglan, Hayes, & Pistorello, 2008).”
From Psychological Flexibility in Caregivers of Children With Congenital Craniofacial Conditions in the United Kingdom. (2026) · cites this paper as Biglan, Hayes, & Pistorello, 2008
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“In particular, there is increasing interest in the theory and practice of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999), not only as a treatment for a range of psychological and behavioural problems, but also for promoting workplace mental health (Biglan, Hayes, & Pistorello, 2008; Bond & Bunce, 2000; Hayes, Bissett et al., 2004).”
From A randomised worksite comparison of acceptance and commitment therapy and stress inoculation training (2010) · cites this paper as Biglan, Hayes, & Pistorello, 2008
In the citing paper
“Second, these results are consistent with the view that the processes designed to promote psychological flexibility will apply across a wide range of psychological and behavioural difficulties (Biglan, Hayes, & Pistorello, 2008; Hayes et al., 2006).”
From A randomised worksite comparison of acceptance and commitment therapy and stress inoculation training (2010) · cites this paper as Biglan, Hayes, & Pistorello, 2008
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Citations
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“Group behavioral activation, implemented as a primary prevention, has been shown to be equally or more effective than CBT at preventing depression (Biglan et al., 2008), and is considered both feasible and acceptable by group members (Belanger et al., 2025).”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Biglan, A., Hayes, S. C., & Pistorello, J.
- Affiliations
- Oregon Research Institute (US)
- University of Nevada, Reno (US)
- Corresponding author
- Biglan, Anthony
- Venue
- Prevention Science
- Published
- 2008-08-09
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 139-152
- ISSN
- 1389-4986 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-6695
- PMC
- PMC2727477
- OpenAlex
- W2090211322
- Semantic Scholar
- 083b59b6411c8db418bb66ff1bda2cb60f66af6b
- Cited by
- 240
- References
- 143
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 10.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Prevention Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Public Health Service (PA018760)
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH074968, R21MH074968)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (P30DA018760, R01DA017868, DA018760, DA017868)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Behavioral and Psychological Studies
- Keywords
- acceptance and commitment therapy, experiential avoidance, prevention interventions, valued action, negative thinking, emotion regulation, intrusive thoughts
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Avoidance Learning, Behavior, Behavior Therapy, Humans, Models, Psychological, Preventive Medicine, Psychology, Social, Behavioral Research
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