4.7 Article

The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Short Form (ERQ-S): A 6-item measure of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression

Journal

JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS
Volume 340, Issue -, Pages 855-861

Publisher

ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.08.076

Keywords

Emotion Regulation Questionnaire; ERQ; ERQ-S; Emotion regulation; Validity; Psychometrics

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This study aimed to optimize the utility of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) by introducing and validating a 6-item short form called the ERQ-S. Results from online surveys of 508 community members and 245 college students showed that the ERQ-S had a 2-factor structure and high correlation with the original ERQ. The shorter format of the ERQ-S retains the psychometric strengths of the ERQ.
Background: Emotion regulation plays a crucial role in affective functioning. One of the most commonly used measures of emotion regulation is the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), a 10-item self-report measure assessing frequency of use of two common emotion regulation strategies: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. In this study, we aimed to optimize the utility of the ERQ for time-pressured settings by introducing and validating a 6-item short form called the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Short Form (ERQ-S). Method: General community (N = 508) and college student (N = 245) samples from the United States completed online surveys containing a range of psychometric self-report measures. For each sample, we examined the factor structure, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of the ERQ-S. Results: Our confirmatory factor analyses supported the intended 2-factor structure of the ERQ-S (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression factors), with all items loading well on their intended factor in both samples. As expected, the ERQ-S correlated highly with the ERQ. A profile of low cognitive reappraisal use and high expressive suppression use on the ERQ-S was significantly associated with higher levels of emotion regulation difficulties, alexithymia, and affective symptoms. Limitations: We did not examine psychometric performance in a clinical sample, or other cultural groups outside the US. All concurrent validity markers were self-report questionnaires. Conclusions: Our data suggest that the ERQ-S successfully retains the psychometric strengths of the ERQ. The shorter format of the ERQ-S should therefore help to optimize the measurement of emotion regulation in time pressured settings.

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