Can the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale be even shorter? Development of the DERS-7

• D. Valencia, Pablo ^[1] ; De la Rosa-Gómez, Anabel ^[1] ; Cabral-Familiar, Mariana ^[2] ; Hernández-Posadas, Alejandrina ^[1] ; Flores-Plata, Lorena A. ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

     Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

     México

     
  2. [2] Portobello Institute, Dublin, Ireland.
• Localización: Interacciones: Revista de Avances en Psicología, ISSN 2411-5940, ISSN-e 2413-4465, Nº. 0, 1990-2025
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.24016/2026.v12.512
• Enlaces
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• Resumen

  • Background: A 15-item version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-15) has previously been tested in Latin America. However, its factor structure remains unclear. Previous evidence suggests that, after removing the Awareness item, the scale is essentially unidimensional.

    Objective: This study aimed to shorten the DERS-15 and develop a clearly unidimensional version that includes items from all the original dimensions of the scale.

    Methods: Two Mexican samples seeking psychological care were analyzed (n₁ = 1,383; n₂ = 2,464). A series of exploratory factor analyses was conducted to develop a shorter version of the scale. The resulting 7-item version, referred to as the DERS-7, was then evaluated through confirmatory factor analysis, reliability estimation, measurement invariance testing by sex, and associations with related variables.

    Results: The DERS-7 showed excellent model fit in the confirmatory phase (CFI = .99, RMSEA = .06) and adequate internal consistency reliability (ω = .88). The scale was invariant between sexes, and its associations with other variables were very similar to those observed for the longer version.

    Conclusions: The DERS-7 appears to be a promising alternative for measuring emotional dysregulation when a global score is desired and administering longer versions of the scale is not feasible.

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