The 10-item Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) was developed by Gross and John (2003) to measure the habitual use of 2 emotion regulation strategies: reappraisal and suppression. Several studies using student samples have provided validation for the ERQ, although the only article (Wiltink et al., 2011) that evaluated the ERQ in a community sample was unable to replicate the original factor structure. Before using the ERQ in non-student samples, it is important to validate the scale in a sample broadly representative of the adult population and to determine the influence of demographic variables. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the ERQ in 2 community samples (Australia, N = 550; United Kingdom, N = 483; 17-95 years of age) using confirmatory analysis. The original ERQ factor structure was not supported by either the Australian or United Kingdom samples. However, with the removal of 1 item, a strong model fit was obtained for both samples (9-item ERQ [ERQ-9]). Using measurement invariance tests, the revised ERQ-9 was found to be equivalent across the samples and demographics (age, gender, and education). Gender, depression, anxiety, and stress were the only factors that were significantly associated with reappraisal and suppression use. Overall, the ERQ-9 provides better fit of the data than the 10-item ERQ. The utility of this measure is enhanced by the provision of normative data for males and females.

Findings suggest a possible decoupling of the use of emotional suppression and psychological distress with age. Suppression may be a useful form of emotion regulation for the stressors experienced in later life and, arguably, therefore may not be associated with the negative outcomes observed in younger adults.

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