Work

Factor structure and measurement invariance of the Difficulties Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) in Spanish adolescents

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Emotion dysregulation is a unifying dimension of several psychopathological symptoms such as prolonged dysphoria, labile mood, high anger, persistent fear and excessive worry. Deficits in emotion regulation (ER), or emotion dysregulation, appear to be relevant to the development, maintenance, and promising treatment target in a broad range of mental disorders. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) is the most comprehensive measure of emotion dysregulation to date, but the Spanish version has not been validated in adolescents. METHOD: A community sample of 642 Spanish adolescents aged 12-18 responded to the DERS. RESULTS: Factor analysis suggested a six-factor solution, and strict measurement invariance across sex was achieved. Internal consistency for the subscales was moderate to satisfactory (.71-.88), except for Awareness (α = .62). We found some sex differences on subscale scores, with small effect sizes. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained for the Spanish version of the DERS are promising for investigating emotion dysregulation in Spanish adolescents.

Source: Psicothema

DOI: 10.7334/psicothema2013.324

Authors: Isabel Gómez-Simón, Eva Penelo, Nuria de la Osa

Institution: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Language: English

Topic: Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $229