Emotion regulation is widely studied in many areas of psychology and the number of publications on emotion regulation has increased exponentially over the past few decades. Additionally, interest in the relationships between emotion dysregulation processes and psychopathology has drastically increased in recent years. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) was developed to measure two specific constructs related to emotion control: reappraisal and suppression (Gross & John, 2003). In its initial validation study and subsequent analyses, the instrument was shown to possess sound psychometric properties, but, to date, inquiry regarding the measure's characteristics has been limited. Factor analytic examinations of commonly used instruments are recommended to validate the properties of a given measure and increase researchers understanding of the measured constructs. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the ERQ in a sample of 1,188 undergraduates through confirmatory factor analysis. Additionally, tests of measurement invariance were employed in order to examine potential structural differences based on gender and ethnicity. The current study supported the original structure of the measure with all demographic groups and exceptional fit was demonstrated. Additional normative data for gender and ethnic groups are included. Results support the use of the instrument in future research.

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Recent empirical and theoretical research has questioned whether fear, helplessness, and horror sufficiently cover the emotional responses that may lead to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Lee, Scragg, & Wilson, 2001). Instead of relying on these three emotions, the possibility exists in which other emotional experiences at the time of traumatic events could predict PTSD symptom level. The current study examined retrospectively reported emotional experiences in relation to current level of PTSD symptoms in a diverse sample. Additional analyses examined the possibility that differences in emotional predictors of symptom level may exist across gender and ethnicity. Results indicated that although fear, helplessness, and horror were not significant predictors of PTSD symptom level, anger consistently emerged as a predictor. Results also demonstrated differences based on gender and ethnicity. These findings are briefly discussed in terms of their research and clinical implications.

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