Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Brazilian version of the Beliefs about Emotions Scale

Abstract

Introduction Beliefs about the unacceptability of expression and experience of emotion are present in the general population but seem to be more prevalent in patients with a number of health conditions. Such beliefs, which may be viewed as a form of perfectionism about emotions, may have a deleterious effect on symptomatology as well as on treatment adherence and outcome. Nevertheless, few questionnaires have been developed to measure such beliefs about emotions, and no instrument has been validated in a developing country. The current study adapted and validated the Beliefs about Emotions Scale in a Brazilian sample. Methods The adaptation procedure included translation, back-translation and analysis of the content, with the final Brazilian Portuguese version of the scale being tested online in a sample of 645 participants. Internal consistency of the scale was very high and results of a principal axis factoring analysis indicated a two-factor solution. Results Respondents with high fatigue levels showed more perfectionist beliefs, and the scale correlated positively with questionnaires measuring anxiety, depression and fear of negative evaluation, confirming cross-cultural associations reported before. Finally, men, non-Caucasians and participants with lower educational achievement gave greater endorsement to such beliefs than women, Caucasian individuals and participants with higher educational level. Conclusions The study confirms previous clinical findings reported in the literature, but indicates novel associations with demographic variables. The latter may reflect cultural differences related to beliefs about emotions in Brazil.

Validation of the South Korean Version of the Beliefs about Emotions Scale

“…Cognitive behavioral models propose that such beliefs contribute to the etiology and maintenance of various symptoms and disorders [7][8][9]. In addition, it has been argued that these beliefs are a transdiagnostic vulnerability factor that gives rise to various problems and is associated with poor treatment outcomes and low treatment attempts [10,11].…”

“…It is unidimensional with adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.91) and validity in its development study [10]. The BES was cross-culturally validated in another cultural context-Brazil, and the Brazilian Portuguese version [11] showed a two-factor model with fair internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.86) and validity. The first factor (Item 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11) accounted for "emotions and their expressions as signs of weakness", and the second factor (Item 4, 7, 12) was linked to "emotional self-control".…”

“…The first factor (Item 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11) accounted for "emotions and their expressions as signs of weakness", and the second factor (Item 4, 7, 12) was linked to "emotional self-control". The disagreement in the factor structures of the two versions may reflect cultural differences [11], which lays the groundwork for the discussion on cultural differences in beliefs about emotions.…”

“…Thus, there has been a need for a proper scale to evaluate beliefs about emotions that can encourage relevant studies and interventions. Further, to the best of our knowledge, there is only one study analyzing the factorial structure of the BES for other cultural contexts, the Brazilian Portuguese version [11]. This study also aimed to contribute to the discussion on the cultural differences of beliefs about emotions by providing additional cultural data on such beliefs.…”

“…Therefore, the objectives of this study were: (1) to investigate the psychometric properties of the BES-K using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA). Performing EFA was necessary instead of doing CFA directly, considering that the factor structures of the previous two versions (the original English and the Brazilian version) are not congruent, and people in different cultures differ in their emotional experiences and expressions [31][32][33]; (2) to compare factor structure models found in the previous studies [10,11] with the BES-K model; and (3) to examine the convergent validity of the BES-K by examining associations with other criterion scales.…”