The Croatian version of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire: Links with higher- and lower-level personality traits and mood

The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) measures habitual use of two emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. The present study tested the psychometric properties and validity of a newly developed Croatian adaptation of the ERQ. In a sample of 347 participants, we first sought to confirm the ERQ's original factor structure. Next, we tested its convergent, divergent and incremental validity. In the first subsample (N = 140), we linked the ERQ with a measure of the Five-Factor Model dimensions and their facets (Revised NEO Personality Inventory). In the second subsample (N = 207), we tested its ability to predict personality dimensions assessed by a different measure (Big Five Inventory) as well as the traits of positive and negative affect, including its incremental validity in predicting the latter. The results corroborated earlier findings, showing that the Croatian ERQ has equivalent psychometrics and predictive validity as ERQs in other languages. Crucially, the observed links between the ERQ and the facets of the Five-Factor Model dimensions enrich our understanding of the personality mechanisms behind the employment of these emotion regulation strategies.     

Incremental Validity of Mindfulness Skills in Relation to Emotional Dysregulation among a Young Adult Community Sample

The present investigation examined the incremental predictive validity of mindfulness skills, as measured by the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS), in relation to multiple facets of emotional dysregulation, as indexed by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), above and beyond variance explained by negative affectivity, anxiety sensitivity, and distress tolerance. Participants were a nonclinical community sample of 193 young adults (106 women, 87 men; M_age = 23.91 years). The KIMS Accepting without Judgment subscale was incrementally negatively predictive of all facets of emotional dysregulation, as measured by the DERS. Furthermore, KIMS Acting with Awareness was incrementally negatively related to difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior. Additionally, both observing and describing mindfulness skills were incrementally negatively related to lack of emotional awareness, and describing skills also were incrementally negatively related to lack of emotional clarity. Findings are discussed in relation to advancing scientific understanding of emotional dysregulation from a mindfulness skills-based framework.     

An Investigation of the Relationships among Negative Affect, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation, and Features of Borderline Personality Disorder

This study investigated the indirect effects of problematic emotion regulation on features of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) when accounting for negative affect in 456 participants from two distinct geographic regions. Participants completed the Affect Intensity Measure (AIM), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and the Borderline Symptom List (BSL). Results from this study supported a model in which there were significant indirect effects of both a lack of emotional clarity and limited access to emotion regulation strategies on features of BPD when accounting for negative affective intensity. Results also supported a second model in which there were significant indirect effects of both limited access to emotion regulation strategies and difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavior on features of BPD when accounting for negative affective reactivity. The results highlight important inter-relationships among features of BPD, difficulties regulating emotions, and negative affective intensity and reactivity.     

Impulsivity facets and cognitive distortions associated with problem gambling: Differences between ADHD and non-ADHD gamblers

ObjectiveTo compare the association between (1) impulsivity facets or cognitive distortions, and (2) problem gambling between male gamblers with versus without self-reported Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).MethodIn 287 male gamblers recruited online, we assessed problem gambling (South Oaks Gambling Screen; cut-off ≥ 3), Adult ADHD Self-report Scale-V1.1 (ADHD), impulsivity facets (UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale-short version) and gambling-related cognitions (Gambling-Related Cognitions Scale).ResultsThe prevalence of self-reported ADHD was 21.6%. In both ADHD and non-ADHD groups, problem gambling was associated with negative urgency, positive urgency and the same cognitive distortions. Sensation seeking and lack of premeditation were associated with problem gambling, but only in non-ADHD gamblers (significant interaction effect).ConclusionDifferent impulsivity facets, but not different cognitive distortions, are associated with problem gambling in male gamblers with or without ADHD. Emotion dysregulation (positive and negative urgency) and cognitive distortions are involved in both groups, but sensation seeking and lack of premeditation may be specific to non-ADHD problem gamblers.     

Psychometric comparison of Chinese and English versions of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire with bilingual Hong Kong Chinese students

The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross & John, 2003) assesses two emotion regulation (ER) strategies: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Researchers have used the ERQ in cross-national studies, such as with participants in Hong Kong. There is inconsistency in psychometric equivalence data for the ERQ in Chinese among adults, and prior research in Hong Kong contradicted the ERQ's original factor structure (Matsumoto et al., 2008). The present study examined the factor structure, reliability and validity of a translated Traditional Chinese-ERQ and the English-ERQ with Hong Kong college students. Results revealed that both versions replicated the original two-factor structure of the ERQ (Gross & John, 2003). Evidence of the measure's convergent, discriminant and predictive validity was obtained as well. Implications for cross-cultural scale validation particularly with Hong Kong Chinese students are discussed.     

The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale: Factor Structure and Association with Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in Adolescent Inpatients

Research suggests that difficulties in emotion regulation are an important correlate of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adults. Research examining this link in adolescents is limited by the lack of comprehensive instruments to assess difficulties in emotion regulation. Against this background, the aims of the current study were to (a) confirm the six-factor structure of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 23(4), 253?C263, 2004) in a sample of adolescent inpatients (N?=?218); (b) explore the relation between different aspects of emotion dysregulation and lifetime NSSI while controlling for psychopathology and sex; and (c) assess the clinical utility of the DERS in detecting lifetime NSSI status. Fit indices obtained through Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated that the six-factor structure of the DERS fit the data adequately and that most items loaded strongly on their respective latent factor. All six latent factors were significantly correlated with each other, with the exception of lack of emotional awareness and difficulties engaging in goal-directed behavioral when distressed. Regression analyses revealed that only the limited access to emotion regulation strategies subscale accounted for a significant portion of the variance in NSSI when controlling for other aspects of emotion dysregulation, sex, and psychopathology. Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis indicated that the DERS limited access to emotion regulation strategies subscale score has moderate diagnostic accuracy in detecting the presence of NSSI. The optimal cut-off score was 21.5 when detecting NSSI among inpatient adolescents. Results provide further support for the relation between emotion regulation difficulties and NSSI. The DERS appears to be a useful measure of detecting NSSI in clinical samples of adolescents.     

Mothers’ self-reported emotion dysregulation: A potentially valid method in the field of infant mental health

In the current study, we evaluated the extent to which mothers reported emotion dysregulation on the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (DERS) (a) converged with physiological indices of emotion dysregulation while parenting, (b) correlated with maternal sensitivity, and (c) predicted infant attachment disorganization and behavior problems in a sample of 259 mothers and their infants. When infants were 6 months old, mothers’ physiological arousal and regulation were measured during parenting tasks and mothers completed the DERS. Maternal sensitivity was observed during distress-eliciting tasks when infants were 6 and 14 months old. Infant attachment disorganization was assessed during the Strange Situation when infants were 14 months old and mothers reported on infants’ behavior problems when infants were 27 months old. Mothers who reported greater emotion regulation difficulties were more physiologically dysregulated during stressful parenting tasks and also showed lower levels of maternal sensitivity at 6 months. Mother-reported dysregulation predicted higher likelihood of infant attachment disorganization and more behavior problems. Results suggest that the DERS is a valid measure of maternal emotional dysregulation and may be a useful tool for future research and intervention efforts aimed toward promoting positive parenting and early child adjustment.     

Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for use with athletes

ObjectivesThree studies examine the factorial validity, internal consistency, test–retest stability, and criterion validity of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ: Gross & John, 2003) for use with athletes.DesignFactorial validity, internal consistency, test–retest stability and criterion validity of the ERQ were examined over three stages, using three separate samples.MethodIn stage 1 the factorial validity and internal consistency of the ERQ subscales were examined based on responses from 433 sport participants. In stage 2, 176 sport participants completed the ERQ on two occasions separated by an interval of two weeks. In stage 3, the criterion validity of the ERQ was examined. Sport participants (n = 88) completed the ERQ and reported the intensity, frequency and direction of a range of emotions experienced when competing in sport.ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis results lend some support to a two-factor model when reappraisal and suppression are allowed to correlate. Alpha coefficients were acceptable. Test–retest stability analyses indicated poor agreement and a greater influence of situational, as opposed to trait factors, in the variance of item scores on the second test administration. In addition, results were partially consistent with findings of Gross and John (2003): reappraisal scores were associated with pleasant emotions, but suppression scores were not associated with unpleasant emotions.ConclusionResults provide mixed support for the validity of the ERQ in sport. Because the ERQ is intended to assess stable patterns of emotion regulation, the instability of items is a concern and reasons for this require further investigation.     

Interoceptive sensitivity facilitates both antecedent- and response-focused emotion regulation strategies

The ability to perceive bodily signals (interoceptive sensitivity) modulates emotional experience. However, there is scarce evidence that interoceptive sensitivity also modulates the use of emotion regulation strategies. The present study investigated whether individual differences in interoceptive sensitivity are associated with the habitual use of two main emotion regulation strategies: reappraisal (antecedent-focused) and suppression (response-focused). All participants (N = 402) completed the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and underwent the heartbeat perception task. Individuals with higher interoceptive sensitivity showed both greater habitual reappraisal and suppression use compared to those with lower interoceptive sensitivity. These findings suggest that better detection of ones' bodily signals facilitates the selection and implementation of antecedent-focused as well as response-focused emotion regulation strategies.     

Emotion Regulation Difficulties During and After Partial Hospitalization Treatment Across Eating Disorders

Emotion regulation deficits are associated with eating disorder (ED) symptoms, regardless of eating disorder diagnosis. Thus, recent treatment approaches for EDs, such as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), have focused on teaching patients skills to better regulate emotions. The present study examined changes in emotion regulation among adult patients with EDs during DBT-oriented partial hospital treatment, and at follow-up (M[SD] = 309.58[144.59] days from discharge). Exploratory analyses examined associations between changes in emotion regulation and ED symptoms. Patients with anorexia nervosa, restricting (AN-R, n = 77), and binge-eating/purging subtype (AN-BP, n = 46), or bulimia nervosa (BN, n = 118) completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) at admission, discharge, and follow-up. Patients with BN demonstrated significant improvements across all facets of emotion dysregulation from admission to discharge and maintained improvements at follow-up. Although patients with AN-BP demonstrated statistically significant improvements on overall emotion regulation, impulsivity, and acceptance, awareness, and clarity of emotions, from admission to discharge, these improvements were not significant at follow-up. Patients with AN-R demonstrated statistically significant improvements on overall emotion dysregulation from treatment admission to discharge. Changes in emotion regulation were moderately correlated with changes in ED symptoms over time. Results support different trajectories of emotion regulation symptom change in DBT-oriented partial hospital treatment across ED diagnoses, with patients with BN demonstrating the most consistent significant improvements.     

Emotion regulation and risk taking: Predicting risky choice in deliberative decision making

Only very recently has research demonstrated that experimentally induced emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) affect risky choice (e.g., Heilman et al., 2010). However, it is unknown whether this effect also operates via habitual use of emotion regulation strategies in risky choice involving deliberative decision making. We investigated the role of habitual use of emotion regulation strategies in risky choice using the “cold” deliberative version of the Columbia Card Task (CCT; Figner et al., 2009). Fifty-three participants completed the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross & John, 2003) and—one month later—the CCT and the PANAS. Greater habitual cognitive reappraisal use was related to increased risk taking, accompanied by decreased sensitivity to changes in probability and loss amount. Greater habitual expressive suppression use was related to decreased risk taking. The results show that habitual use of reappraisal and suppression strategies predict risk taking when decisions involve predominantly cognitive-deliberative processes.     

Measuring cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression in children: A parent-rating version of the emotion regulation questionnaire

The frequency of using cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression strategies to regulate emotions has been associated with social-emotional adjustment. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the Parent-Rating Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (P-ERQ), a parent-rating version of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) in children aged five to six years. Children from Germany (N = 112) and the U.S. (N = 59) participated. Confirmatory factor analyses of P-ERQ data from Germany indicated a two-factor structure that closely reflected the factor structure of the adult ERQ with adequate scale reliabilities. Correlations with a measure of coping strategies supported the convergent validity of the P-ERQ. Cross-country measurement invariance analyses between samples from Germany and the U.S. suggested partial scalar invariance for the cognitive reappraisal subscale and metric invariance for the expressive suppression subscale. Findings provide preliminary evidence that the P-ERQ can be recommended for use in developmental research.     

Validation of a Brief Version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-18) in Five Samples

The field of affective clinical science has expanded dramatically over the past several decades (Rottenberg and Gross 2003; Tracy et al. 2014). An important part of this research is understanding emotion regulation and dysregulation, in particular, how individuals differ in their ability to identify, accept, and manage their emotional experiences. One of the most common and widely cited measures of emotion dysregulation is the Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz and Roemer 2004), which has been extensively used to facilitate understanding of how emotion dysregulation is associated with psychiatric symptoms, other emotion-related constructs, and treatment progress. While this scale has contributed greatly to our understanding of emotion regulation problems, its length makes its inclusion in brief study protocols difficult, limiting its utility and increasing participant burden. In order to address this issue, we developed a short form version of the DERS (DERS-18) composed of the strongest items from each of the measure’s six subscales from the original DERS publication (Gratz and Roemer 2004), and then validated this measure in five datasets that vary in age and sample type. Our results demonstrate that an 18-item short-form of the DERS exhibits a similar structure as the original 36-item DERS, demonstrates excellent reliability and validity, and performs similarly to the original DERS despite comprising half the items. The DERS-18 has the potential to improve and expand emotion regulation assessment while reducing demands on research participants.     

Assessing Emotion Regulation in Social Anxiety Disorder: The Emotion Regulation Interview

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is thought to involve emotional hyper-reactivity and emotion dysregulation. However, the precise nature of the emotion dysregulation in SAD has not been well characterized. In the present study, the Emotion Regulation Interview (ERI) was developed to quantify the frequency and self-efficacy of five emotion regulation strategies specified by Gross’s (Review of General Psychology 2: 271–299, 1998) process model of emotion regulation. Forty-eight individuals with SAD and 33 healthy controls (HCs) were interviewed about responses during (a) a laboratory speech task and (b) two recent social anxiety-evoking situations. Individuals with SAD reported greater use of avoidance and expressive suppression than HCs, as well as lesser self-efficacy in implementing cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. These regulation deficits were not accounted for by differences in emotional reactivity. These findings highlight specific emotion regulation deficits in SAD, and support the idea that the Emotion Regulation Interview may be usefully applied to other clinical disorders.     

The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale Short Form (DERS-SF): Validation and Replication in Adolescent and Adult Samples

Emotion dysregulation often emerges early in development and is a core feature of many psychological conditions. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) is a well validated and widely used self-report measure for assessing emotion regulation problems among adolescents and adults. The DERS has six subscales with five to eight items each (36 total), suggesting multiple questions may assess similar underlying constructs. In an effort to reduce respondent burden and streamline this widely-used instrument, we created a short-form version of the DERS (DERS-SF) using confirmatory factor analysis on data from three adolescent (n?=?257) and two adult samples (n?=?797). Scores on the DERS-SF yielded similar correlation patterns relative to the full measure, ranging from .90 to .98 and reflecting 81–96 % shared variance. This instrument maintains the excellent psychometric properties and retains the total and subscale scores of the original measure with half the items.     

Évaluation de deux stratégies de régulation émotionnelle : la suppression expressive et la réévaluation cognitive

The main purposes of this study were first to validate a French version of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire [Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 85 2003 348–362], and second to access whether there are some interindividual differences on emotion regulation (sex and anxiety profile differences). A sample of 591 male and female adults completed a French translation of the ERQ, the Positive and Negative Affective Schedule, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. In the same way as in the original version, explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that a two-factor model explained the data collected with the French version. Internal reliability scores (Cronbach’s alpha) were 0.76 for the cognitive reappraisal and 0.72 for the expressive suppression. In addition, the findings confirmed that men used more suppression than did women. For anxiety, high suppression and low reappraisal was related to trait-anxiety. Studying these two emotion regulation strategies have a strong interest for several domains such as health, work or education.     

The Greek Version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale: Testing the Factor Structure, Reliability and Validity in an Adult Community Sample

We examined the factor structure, reliability, convergent and criterion validity of the Greek version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) using data from a community lifespan sample. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a clear six-factor structure consistent with the factor structure evidenced in English-speaking samples. The results also demonstrated adequate classical psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The scale branches demonstrated convergent and concurrent validity with personality, emotion intelligence abilities and coping strategies. The importance of using culturally validated dimensional measures of emotion regulation is discussed.     

An Examination of the Latent Structure of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale

The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz and Roemer, Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment 26:41?C54, 2004) is a popular multidimensional self-report measure of emotion regulation. The present study sought to examine the latent factor structure of the DERS. An examination of latent factor intercorrelations and a higher-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) suggested that the DERS-AWARENESS dimension may not represent the same higher-order emotion regulation construct as the other five DERS dimensions. Furthermore, findings supported the adequacy of a revised five-factor model of the DERS in which the AWARENESS dimension was removed. This revised DERS total scale did not diminish concurrent relations between the DERS and outcomes relevant to the emotion regulation domain (i.e., depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress symptoms). Implications for the conceptualization and assessment of emotion regulation are discussed.     

情绪调节在特质与情绪间中介效应模型的年龄差异

研究采用EPQ、ERQ及PANAS收集了青年、中年及老年三个年龄组共870份有效数据, 分析了认知重评和表情抑制在外倾和神经质与正负情绪之间中介效应及发展模型差异。主要结果：(1)外倾−正情绪, 神经质−负情绪之间存在高相关。(2)与青年组和老年组比, 中年组的神经质与负情绪的相关最弱。(3)三个年龄组的认知重评在神经质与负情绪之间都存在显著的中介效应, 中介效应值在中年组为最强。(4) 表情抑制在外倾与正负情绪之间显著的中介效应仅出现在中年组。研究分析, 认知重评和表情抑制是减弱特质−情绪之间密切度的有效调节机制。     

How do you choose and how well does it work?: the selection and effectiveness of emotion regulation strategies and their relationship with borderline personality disorder feature severity

There is little research examining whether the selection of emotion regulation strategies is compromised among individuals characterised by emotion dysregulation. In a sample of 149 undergraduates, we examined the selection and effectiveness of 2 emotion regulation strategies (reappraisal or distraction) in response to emotionally evocative stimuli, and their relationship with emotion dysregulation, measured by borderline personality disorder (BPD) feature severity. Stimulus intensity and self-reported negative emotional intensity were also compared as predictors of strategy selection. Results indicated that self-reported negative emotional intensity was a stronger predictor of strategy selection than stimulus intensity, and participants generally selected reappraisal over distraction. However, increases in self-reported negative emotional intensity was associated with an increased likelihood of choosing distraction, particularly among individuals higher in BPD features. In general, distraction exhibited less effectiveness than reappraisal, and higher BPD features did not differentially impact such effectiveness. Our findings indicate that individuals higher in emotion dysregulation prefer to use distraction as self-reported negative emotional intensity increases, a strategy which, overall, may not be as effective as reappraisal. Selection, rather than effectiveness of emotion regulation strategy might be a key feature of individuals characterised by emotion dysregulation.