A Rasch Model Analysis of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and suppression, are key to psychological well-being.
• The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) is a widely used tool to assess these strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of the 10-item ERQ in a diverse community sample.
• To confirm the ERQ's dimensionality and the fit of its subscales to the Rasch model.
• To investigate differential item functioning (DIF) across demographic and experiential groups.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the polytomous Rasch model to analyze data from 713 community residents.
• Assessed unidimensionality, local dependence, and response category function for ERQ items.
• Examined DIF across gender, mental illness symptoms, meditation practice, and age.

Main Results:

• The 10-item ERQ demonstrated a two-factor structure, with reappraisal and suppression subscales fitting the Rasch model.
• No significant local dependence or DIF was found across assessed subgroups.
• Younger adults, non-meditators, and individuals reporting mental illness symptoms used less reappraisal.
• Non-meditators reported higher suppression use compared to regular meditators.

Conclusions:

• The ERQ is a psychometrically sound measure for assessing emotion regulation strategies in diverse populations.
• Specific demographic and experiential factors are associated with differential use of reappraisal and suppression.
• Findings support the ERQ's utility in research examining emotion regulation differences.