Psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire

Gross's Emotion Regulation Questionnaire is one of the most widely-used and valid questionnaires for assessing emotion regulation strategies. The validity and reliability of the Persian version have not been determined and data on its psychometric properties are not available to Iranian mental health researchers. The purpose of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire in Iranian students.

In this cross-sectional study, 348 students (170 males and 178 females) were selected from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science and Tehran University of Medical Science. The following statistical procedures were conducted: correlation coefficients, factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha, and independent t tests.

The results showed that men use suppression more than women (T = -2.62, p = 0.009). Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.76 for the cognitive reappraisal sub-scale and 0.72 for the suppression sub-scale (excluding question 9). Six questions related to the cognitive reappraisal factor explained 30.97% of emotion regulation variance, and 3 questions related to the suppression factor explained 22.59% of emotion regulation variance. Overall, these factors explained 53.5% of emotion regulation variance. There were significant correlations between suppression and difficulties in emotion regulation, trait anxiety, and affective control. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation between cognitive reappraisal and the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire.

The results indicate that the Persian version of the ERQ is a reliable and valid instrument that can be helpful for development of further important studies of emotional regulation.