title: Development and Validation of a Brief Version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale: The DERS-16.
abstract: The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) is a widely-used, theoretically-driven, and psychometrically-sound self-report measure of emotion regulation difficulties. However, at 36-items, the DERS may be challenging to administer in some situations or settings (e.g., in the course of patient care or large-scale epidemiological studies). Consequently, there is a need a briefer version of the DERS. The goal of the present studies was to develop and evaluate a 16-item version of the DERS - the DERS-16. The reliability and validity of the DERS-16 were examined in a clinical sample (N = 96) and two large community samples (Ns = 102 and 482). The validity of the DERS-16 was evaluated comparing the relative strength of the association of the two versions of the DERS with measures of emotion regulation and related constructs, psychopathology, and clinically-relevant behaviors theorized to stem from emotion regulation deficits. Results demonstrate that the DERS-16 has retained excellent internal consistency, good test-retest reliability, and good convergent and discriminant validity. Further, the DERS-16 showed minimal differences in its convergent and discriminant validity with relevant measures when compared to the original DERS. In conclusion, the DERS-16 offers a valid and brief method for the assessment of overall emotion regulation difficulties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bjureberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Brjánn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ljótsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Tull
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hedman
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Hanna
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sahlin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lars-Gunnar
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Lundh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bjärehed
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: DiLillo
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Terri
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Messman-Moore
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Clara Hellner
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Gumpert
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Kim L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Gratz
keywords: assessment; emotion regulation; experiential avoidance; self-report measure; short version