Embracing Interdependence in an Individualistic World: Supporting Basic Psychological Needs and Protecting Against Burnout -Development of the Interdependence Acceptance Questionnaire

This article introduces Interdependence Acceptance (IA) (i.e., the disposition to embrace mutual reliance as a source of strength and resilience rather than a threat to autonomy or worth) and presents the development and validation of the Interdependence Acceptance Questionnaire (IAQ). Across four studies, we establish the IAQ’s psychometric robustness and demonstrate its relevance for psychological functioning. Factor analyses confirmed a consistent three-factor structure (Openness to Receiving Help, Valuing Cooperation, and Appreciation of Helping Others) with strong internal reliability in both French (Study 1) and English (Study 4) samples. Study 2 supported construct validity, revealing that IA correlated positively with connectedness to humanity, self-transcendence, and basic need satisfaction, and negatively with egocentrism and basic need frustration. Importantly, IA was associated with both competence and autonomy, suggesting that it shapes whether interdependence is experienced as ego-threatening or autonomy-supportive. Subdimension analyses further revealed that openness and cooperation are more closely tied to motivational and relational functioning, whereas appreciation of helping others reflects broader altruistic orientation. Finally, studies 3 and 4 demonstrated criterion validity, showing that IA predicts lower burnout in students and workers, and greater affective well-being in students. Beyond psychometric validation, this work discusses how IA may serve as a corrective to the cultural myth of radical self-reliance, suggesting that embracing mutual reliance can buffer anticipatory anxiety, guilt, and self-blame, while reframing autonomy as strengthened, rather than weakened, by interdependence. Together, our findings establish IA as a distinct psychological resource that promotes resilience, flourishing, and social cohesion.