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

Abstract Background The understanding of how individuals manage their emotional experiences has flourished dramatically over the last decades, including assessing of emotion (dys)regulation. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) is a well-validated and extensively used self-report instrument for emotion regulation problems. Despite the wide use of DERS in both clinical and research settings, its length potentially increases fatigue and frustration in respondents and limits its inclusion in brief research protocols. Consequently, a short-form version of the DERS (DERS-SF) was developed, which requires cross-cultural adaptations and the study of its reliability and validity. Objectives In order to address this issue, this study aimed to analyze the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of DERS-SF and examine the DERS-SF factor structure invariance between men and women. Methods The sample comprised 646 participants aged between 18 and 66 years (M = 29.93, SD = 11.71). Results The correlated six-factor structure of the original version has an acceptable fit, good reliability, and convergent validity. Our results also suggested the invariance of the factor structure of the DERS-SF across genders. Conclusion The DERS-SF has good psychometric properties, and it may be useful for future research and clinical work to use this six-factor brief version and improve emotion regulation assessment.