Abstract
Objective: The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) is a widely used self-report measure of subjective emotion ability, as defined by a prominent clinically derived model of emotion regulation (Gratz and Roemer, 2004). Although the DERS is often used in treatment and research settings for adults with emotional (i.e., anxiety, mood, obsessive-compulsive, or trauma-related) disorders, its psychometric properties are not well-characterized in this population.Method: We examined the psychometric properties of the DERS and three popular short forms (DERS-16; DERS-18; and DERS-SF) in a large (N = 427) sample of treatment-seeking adults with one or more DSM-5 emotional disorders.Results: For the original DERS, internal consistency was strong for all subscales except Awareness. A bifactor structure consisting of one general emotion dysregulation factor and five uncorrelated specific factors corresponding to the original DERS subscales (excluding Awareness) provided the best fit. A series of structural equation models (SEMs) demonstrated unique incremental contributions of the general factor and several specific factors to explaining concurrent clinical severity. The general factor and one specific factor (Goals) also prospectively predicted treatment outcome following a naturalistic course of outpatient cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in a subset of participants (n = 202) for whom discharge data were available. Specifically, more severe emotion dysregulation at intake predicted better CBT response, while more severe impairment in goal-directed activity when distressed predicted worse CBT response. All three short forms showed a robust bifactor structure and good internal consistency and convergent validity vis-à-vis the original measure, albeit with a slight decrement in incremental utility (1–3% less variance explained in clinical severity).Conclusion: With the Awareness items excluded, the DERS showed good internal consistency and a robust bifactor latent structure. The general factor and several specific factors incrementally and prospectively predicted clinical severity and treatment outcome, which suggests that the DERS may have clinical and predictive utility in treatment-seeking adults with emotional disorders. Additional research is needed to establish convergent and discriminant validity in this population. The use of a short form in lieu of the full DERS may be sufficient for many general clinical and research purposes, particularly when participant burden is a concern.
Highlights
The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz and Roemer, 2004) is a popular but controversial self-report measure that aims to assess emotion dysregulation, broadly conceptualized
The extent to which any measure derived from a clinicalcontextual framework could be considered a measure of emotion regulation as it is defined by affective scientists is a matter of debate
The present study is contextualized within the agnostic observation that DERS is widely used in treatment and research settings for adults with emotional (i.e., DSM-5 anxiety, depressive, bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, and trauma- and stressor-related) disorders, its psychometric properties have not yet been adequately characterized in this population
Summary
The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz and Roemer, 2004) is a popular but controversial self-report measure that aims to assess emotion dysregulation, broadly conceptualized. The model upon which the DERS is based (Gratz and Roemer, 2004) proposes four broad facets of emotion regulation: (a) awareness and understanding of emotions; (b) acceptance of emotions; (c) the ability to control impulses and behave in accordance with goals in the presence of negative affect; and (d) access to emotion regulation strategies that are perceived to be effective for feeling better. This model has been embraced primarily within applied clinical research and treatment contexts. The present study is contextualized within the agnostic observation that DERS is widely used in treatment and research settings for adults with emotional (i.e., DSM-5 anxiety, depressive, bipolar, obsessive-compulsive, and trauma- and stressor-related) disorders, its psychometric properties have not yet been adequately characterized in this population
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