Preece DA, Petrova K, Mehta A, Gross JJ. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Short Form (ERQ-S): A 6-item measure of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression.
J Affect Disord 2023;
340:855-861. [PMID:
37597776 DOI:
10.1016/j.jad.2023.08.076]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Emotion regulation plays a crucial role in affective functioning. One of the most commonly used measures of emotion regulation is the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), a 10-item self-report measure assessing frequency of use of two common emotion regulation strategies: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. In this study, we aimed to optimize the utility of the ERQ for time-pressured settings by introducing and validating a 6-item short form called the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Short Form (ERQ-S).
METHOD
General community (N = 508) and college student (N = 245) samples from the United States completed online surveys containing a range of psychometric self-report measures. For each sample, we examined the factor structure, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of the ERQ-S.
RESULTS
Our confirmatory factor analyses supported the intended 2-factor structure of the ERQ-S (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression factors), with all items loading well on their intended factor in both samples. As expected, the ERQ-S correlated highly with the ERQ. A profile of low cognitive reappraisal use and high expressive suppression use on the ERQ-S was significantly associated with higher levels of emotion regulation difficulties, alexithymia, and affective symptoms.
LIMITATIONS
We did not examine psychometric performance in a clinical sample, or other cultural groups outside the US. All concurrent validity markers were self-report questionnaires.
CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that the ERQ-S successfully retains the psychometric strengths of the ERQ. The shorter format of the ERQ-S should therefore help to optimize the measurement of emotion regulation in time-pressured settings.
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