Reliability, Validity and Measurement Invariance of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-8 in Chinese Adolescents

Abstract

Abstract Objective At present, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-8 (DERS-8) has not been tested in China, which limits cross-cultural research. Therefore, this study intends to test its reliability, validity and measurement invariance in Chinese adolescents. Methods 424 participants were invited to complete the DERS-8 for the first time. In the second test, 586 participants filled in the DERS-8, General Anxiety Disorder Scale, Depression Scale and Emotion Regulation Scale. The interval between the two measurements was one month, and 104 adolescents participated in two measurements. Results Each item of the DERS-8 had a good discrimination. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the one-factor model of the scale, and the fitness indicators were χ2/df=4.05，RMSEA=0.07，CFI=0.98，TLI=0.97. The internal consistency reliability coefficient, split-half reliability coefficient and test-retest reliability coefficient of the scale were 0.90、0.87and 0.66 respectively. The total score of DERS-8 was positively correlated with anxiety (r = 0.43, p < 0.01), depression (r = 0.41, p < 0.01), as well as negatively correlated with expression inhibition (r =﹣0.58, p < 0.01) and cognitive reappraisal (r =﹣0.61, p < 0.01). Furthermore, the multi-group CFA showed that the configural, metric, scalar, and strict invariances of the DERS-8 across gender were all acceptable. Conclusion The Chinese version of DERS-8 meets the measurement standards and could be used to measure the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation in Chinese adolescents.