Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Contexts Associated with Emotional Outbursts

Abstract

The causal relationship between emotional outbursts and emotion dysregulation is proposed to be heterogeneous, but cultural influences have not been considered despite established cultural differences in emotional processes (e.g., increased motivation to suppress emotions in interdependent cultures). Responses to the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Emotional Outburst Questionnaire were collected from 327 caregivers of young people (6–25 years) with autism spectrum disorder, Down’s syndrome, or intellectual disability. Responses were compared to a previous sample of 268 responses from the English version of the questionnaire. The latent factor structure of the contextual items was measurement invariant across both versions. The Brazilian responses were classified into three distinct clusters (Sensory Sensitivity; Perceived Safety; Perceived Unsafety) which considerably overlapped with the English clusters.

Preliminary psychometric properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the emotional outburst questionnaire

“…A previous study was conducted to assess whether the contextual clusters of emotional outbursts evaluated using the EOQ that emerged from a sample of caregivers in Brazil would be comparable to the clusters identified in a study from the United Kingdom 29 . To evaluate this cross-cultural comparison, the factor structure of the contextual items in the Brazilian Portuguese version of the questionnaire was validated and compared against the factors derived from the English version 29 . Additionally, the EOQ can be completed by different informants, making it possible to provide information on clinical aspects of the emotion regulation of individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities based on multiple informants.…”

Characterising the behaviours in most severe and least severe emotional outbursts in young people

“…In the present study, we apply the Emotional Outburst Questionnaire, which has been developed for measuring the nature and context of outbursts in detail, and has been validated cross-culturally in terms of outburst contexts 10 , 20 . Importantly, the questionnaire includes profiling the characteristics of most and least severe outburst types in the same individual.…”