Reactivity, Intensity, Polarity and Stability questionnaire (RIPoSt-40) assessing emotional dysregulation:...

Emotional dysregulation (ED) is a heterogenous construct with great relevance in psychiatric research and clinical practice. In the present study, we validated a 40-items version of the Reactivity, Intensity, Polarity and Stability questionnaire (RIPoSt-40), a self-report measure of ED.

A non-clinical sample (N = 396) and two clinical samples of patients with cyclothymia (N = 120) and ADHD (N = 54) were recruited. Items were selected and subscales were derived based on inter-item correlations and PCA with promax rotation in the non-clinical sample. Test-retest reliability was assessed in a subsample (N = 60). Internal consistency and concurrent validity with TEMPS-M factors were evaluated in each sample. The three groups results were compared to ascertain discriminant validity.

Four subscales were identified as measures of affective instability, emotional impulsivity, negative and positive emotionality. The first three subscales also sum up to a negative ED score comprising thirty items. Measures of reliability (test-retest r = 0.71-0.84) and internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.72-0.95) were generally high. Concurrent validity was supported by correlations with TEMPS-M factors. Discriminant validity was significant (p < 0.001) with cyclothymic and ADHD patients showing higher scores for each subscale, except for positive emotionality.

The non-clinical sample was recruited through a web-survey and mainly included young and highly educated subjects. Mood and anxiety comorbidity of the clinical samples were not taken into consideration.

RIPoSt-40 questionnaire has proved to be a valid, reliable and useful tool to assess ED both in clinical and non-clinical contexts.