Validation of the difficulties with emotion regulation scale in a sample of trauma‐exposed Black women

Abstract

Background The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) is commonly used to assess dimensions of emotion dysregulation, including emotion nonacceptance, limited strategies, and difficulty with goal‐directed behavior, impulse control, and emotional clarity. Despite considerable work examining the DERS' factor structure, reliability, and validity, there is limited psychometric support for its use with Black women. Objectives (1) Examine the factor structure of the DERS; (2) Compare fit of short‐form versions; and (3) Assess whether scores differ based on diagnoses. Method Sample consisted of Black women (n = 667) recruited in urban, community hospital setting. Results The DERS‐18 correlated traits model without awareness demonstrated the best fit, χ2 (80) = 261.09, root mean square error of approximation = 0.06 [0.05, 0.07], comparative fit index = 0.99, Tucker Lewis Index = 0.98, weighted root mean square residual = 0.89. Additionally, those with current diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depressive disorder (MDD) reported higher dysregulation (vs. lifetime/no diagnoses). Further, women with comorbid PTSD/MDD reported greater dysregulation (vs. single disorder/no diagnoses). Conclusions This study provides evidence supporting the model fit, reliability, and validity of the DERS‐18 for Black women.

The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale – Short Form (DERS-SF): psychometric properties and invariance between genders

“…The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) developed by Gratz and Roemer ( 2004 ) is based on the second perspective, which emphasizes the functional nature of emotions. There are other measures to evaluate this construct (e.g., Catanzaro and Mearns Generalized Expectancy for Negative Mood Regulation Scale; Trait Meta-Mood Scale; Emotional Regulation Questionnaire), but they all assess how individuals’ internal experiences impact their affective response and only reflect a single aspect or subset of emotions (Mekawi et al, 2021 ). Conversely, the DERS was designed to assess trait-level perceived emotion regulation ability in a multidimensional and comprehensive regulation perspective (Gratz & Roemer, 2004 ).…”

An Item Response Theory examination of the original and short forms of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) in pregnant women

“…Thus, it is increasingly evident that emotion regulation is particularly important for pregnant women and their offspring, and especially for those facing added stressors related to socioeconomic disadvantage and racial/ethnic health disparities. Despite the importance of emotion regulation there is a significant gap in the literature on emotion regulation in racially marginalized women and this is particularly true of studies that evaluate the assessments tools for emotion dysregulation (Mekawi et al, 2020;Ritschel et al, 2015). Given that pregnancyrelated outcomes are worse for racially marginalized groups and that emotion regulation is implicated in many of these outcomes (e.g., smoking, obesity, and mental health difficulties), there is a clear need for research on how to best assess emotion regulation in this population (Howell et al, 2005).…”

“…Most factor analytic studies have replicated the six factor structure of the DERS or provided evidence for a five-factor structure that does not support a distinguishable awareness factor (Bardeen et al, 2016). In more recent years factor analysis of the DERS has begun to examine racially marginalized groups (Mekawi et al, 2020;Ritschel et al, 2015). These factor analytic studies provide important information about how items relate to a given construct (e.g., subscales of the DERS) and relations among constructs.…”

A longitudinal approach to understanding boredom during pandemics: The predictive roles of trauma and emotion dysregulation

“…With respect to the link between trauma and emotion dysregulation, using Gratz and Roemer's (2004) integrative conceptualization and corresponding measure, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Ehring and Quack (2010) found that, among a large sample of trauma survivors, PTSD symptom severity was robustly associated with the lack of emotional awareness, lack of emotional clarity, difficulties with engaging in goal-directed behaviors, impulse control difficulties, nonacceptance of emotions, and the belief that there is little that can be done to regulate emotions effectively. Another more recent study (Mekawi et al, 2020) found that people with current PTSD reported more dysregulation across all six DERS subscales, relative to people without PTSD and with lifetime PTSD. This work suggests that people with trauma struggle to attend to, understand, control, and accept their negative emotions, as well as struggle to behave in a manner that is consistent with their goals and lack belief in their ability to effectively regulate their emotions.…”