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.     

Social Discounting and Externalizing Behavior Problems in Boys

Social discounting refers to the fact that most people assign more value to the welfare of close affiliates than they do to the welfare of distant affiliates—they discount the latter compared to the former. We report the first study to apply a social discounting paradigm to boys. We were particularly interested in investigating the relations between social discounting, age, and externalizing behavior problems (antisocial behavior). Results showed that (1) preadolescent boys were more likely than adolescent boys to show atypical response patterns in allocating rewards to affiliates; (2) task behavior was well represented as social discounting once boys with atypical response patterns were deleted from the sample, and (3) boys functioning in the clinical range on indices of externalizing behavior problems demonstrated steeper social discounting compared to controls. We conclude that social discounting as a measure of perceived social closeness is feasible for use in adolescent samples. Social discounting may operate similarly to other forms of discounting in impulsive individuals. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Working within an Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) framework: Consultant practice and athlete reflections on refining emotion regulation skills

Objective

To examine how working within Hanin’s (2000a) Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning theoretical model (IZOF) informs intervention development for enhancing athletes’ emotion regulation skills.

Design

A single case study design was adopted to examine the applied process of facilitating a female university cross-country runner’s emotion regulation skills.

Method

Consultant reflections followed Boud’s (2001) reflective learning model for immediate and delayed reflection that informed an action research narrative organized round Kellmann and Beckmann’s (2003) action research cycle. A social validation interview was conducted following program completion to examine the athlete’s responses to the emotion regulation intervention.

Results

Consultant’s professional practice decisions and action taken to support the intervention are highlighted. Specifically, the employment and extension of Hanin’s (2000c) IZOF profiling process to inform the development of athlete skills in emotion regulation are described. Moreover, how the content and intensity of performance related subjective emotion, physiological symptom, and cognitive zone profiles for optimal performance guided the identification and enhancement of techniques contributing to effective emotion regulation is illustrated. Athlete interview responses support the overall efficacy of the intervention program.

Conclusion

The present case study supports the efficacy of working within an IZOF framework from a consultant perspective. Furthermore, athlete reflections suggest enhanced skills in emotion regulation were perceived to result from the intervention.     

Evaluating the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire: Comparison of the Reliability,Factor Structure,and Predictive Validity across Five Versions

Five versions of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ), a self‐report measure of perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness, have been used in recent studies (including 10‐, 12‐, 15‐, 18‐, and 25‐items). Findings regarding the associations between perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and suicidal ideation using different versions have been mixed, potentially due to differences in measurement scales. This study evaluated factor structure, internal consistency, and concurrent predictive validity of these five versions in three samples. Samples 1 and 2 were comprised of 449 and 218 undergraduates, respectively; Sample 3 included 114 adolescent psychiatric inpatients. All versions demonstrated acceptable internal consistency. The 10‐item version and 15‐item version demonstrated the best, most consistent model fit in confirmatory factor analyses. Both perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness consistently predicted concurrent suicidal ideation on the 10‐item INQ only. Future research should consider using the 15‐item or 10‐item versions.