Adaptation and psychometric validation of Hindi version of the Behavioural Emotion Regulation Questionnaire

Background: The Behavioural Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (BERQ; Kraaij and Garnefski 2019) is a recently developed tool which assesses behavioural strategies for emotion regulation. Aim: The present study aimed at validating the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Hindi version of the BERQ (BERQ-H) in a sample of Indian population. Method: A community sample of n = 358 individuals completed the Hindi version of the Behavioural Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale-7, and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K-10). Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed that the original five factor structure of the BERQ was replicable. Confirmatory factor analysis favoured a modified five factor structure of the BERQ-H. The unidimensional and the second order factor models of the BERQ-H were not supported. The internal consistency reliability of the BERQ-H subscales was acceptable. Withdrawal, Actively approaching and Ignoring subscales showed inverse associations with depression, anxiety and psychological distress. Seeking distraction did not correlate significantly, whereas Seeking social support showed atypical associations with depression and psychological distress. Conclusion: The BERQ-H is a reliable and valid measure of behavioural emotion regulation strategies. It is advisable to mainly interpret subscale scores on the BERQ-H instead of the overall score.

Automated summary

The study validated the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Hindi version of the BERQ in an Indian population sample, finding acceptable internal consistency reliability. Different dimensions of the questionnaire showed varied associations with depression, anxiety, and psychological distress, highlighting the importance of interpreting subscale scores on the BERQ-H rather than the overall score.