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The Greek Version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale: Testing the Factor Structure, Reliability and Validity in an Adult Community Sample

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Abstract

We examined the factor structure, reliability, convergent and criterion validity of the Greek version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) using data from a community lifespan sample. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a clear six-factor structure consistent with the factor structure evidenced in English-speaking samples. The results also demonstrated adequate classical psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The scale branches demonstrated convergent and concurrent validity with personality, emotion intelligence abilities and coping strategies. The importance of using culturally validated dimensional measures of emotion regulation is discussed.

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Notes

  1. Items comprising a questionnaire are parallel if the following two conditions hold: a) factor loadings are equal for all items i, b) variances of residuals are equal for all items i. The items are tau-equivalent if only the former assumption holds while the latter can be relaxed. Lastly, congeneric items relax both assumptions. A congeneric model represents a baseline model without any constraint.

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Acknowledgment

This research was supported in part by a scholarship to the first author from the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation. The authors wish to thank Dr. Conor Dolan for valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Panagiotis G. Simos.

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Mitsopoulou, E., Kafetsios, K., Karademas, E. et al. The Greek Version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale: Testing the Factor Structure, Reliability and Validity in an Adult Community Sample. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 35, 123–131 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-012-9321-6

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