More of a Good Thing Is Not Always Better: Validation of a Distress Overtolerance Measure

Distress tolerance (DT) refers to the ability to tolerate aversive psychological states. Research has mainly focused on the link between low DT and psychopathology with little empirical work on individuals on the high end (i.e., distress overtolerance). Distress overtolerance has been conceptualized as a tendency to tolerate very high levels of distress despite the negative consequences to one's well-being. Currently, no measures of distress overtolerance have been developed, and current measures for DT are not well-suited for measuring distress overtolerance. To establish distress overtolerance as a construct, an exploratory factor analysis ( N = 251) of the distress overtolerance scale was conducted and revealed a two-factor structure (i.e., Capacity for Harm and Fear of Negative Evaluation). In Study 2 ( N = 257), a confirmatory factor analysis revealed strong psychometric properties, the expected nomological network, good construct validity, and incremental criterion utility. Results showed that this scale can be used as a starting point for the theoretical framework behind distress overtolerance.