The Emotion Regulation Goals Scale: Advancing its psychometric properties using item response theory analysis.

Tânia Brandão, Rute Brites, João Hipólito, Odete Nunes
Author Information
  1. Tânia Brandão: CIP-UAL, Departamento de Psicologia, Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa Luís de Camões, Lisboa, Portugal. ORCID
  2. Rute Brites: CIP-UAL, Departamento de Psicologia, Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa Luís de Camões, Lisboa, Portugal. ORCID
  3. João Hipólito: CIP-UAL, Departamento de Psicologia, Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa Luís de Camões, Lisboa, Portugal. ORCID
  4. Odete Nunes: CIP-UAL, Departamento de Psicologia, Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa Luís de Camões, Lisboa, Portugal. ORCID

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Emotion goals are considered paramount for influencing the initiation, maintenance, and cessation of emotion regulation. Recently, some authors developed an instrument to assess emotion goals-the Emotion Regulation Goals Scale (ERGS).
METHOD: This study included two studies aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the ERGS in two Portuguese samples: 400 adults from the community (76% women; M age = 37.10) (Study 1) and 205 university students (80% women; M age = 21.72) (Study 2).
RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and item response theory (IRT) analysis were used to examine the psychometric properties of the ERGS in the two samples. The CFA confirmed the five-factor structure of the 18-item ERGS, but the analyses of both studies suggested the elimination of two items given their lower loadings/low discrimination.
CONCLUSIONS: A five-factor structure with 16 items was proposed, with good reliability and with evidence of construct validity with relevant constructs.

Keywords

References

  1. Baker, F. B. (2001). The basics of item response theory. ERIC Publications.
  2. Bandura, A. (1986). The explanatory and predictive scope of self-efficacy theory. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 4(3), 359-373.
  3. Brandão, T., Matias, M., Ferreira, T., Vieira, J., Schulz, M. S., & Matos, P. M. (2019). Attachment, emotion regulation, and well-being in couples: Intrapersonal and interpersonal associations. Journal of Personality​​. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12523
  4. Brennan, K. A., Clark, C. L., & Shaver, P. R. (1998). Self-report measurement of adult attachment: An integrative overview. In J. A. Simpson, & W. S. Rholes (Eds.), Attachment theory and close relationships (pp. 46-76). The Guilford Press.
  5. Cai, L., Du Toit, S. H. C., & Thissen, D. (2011). IRTPRO: Flexible, multidimensional, multiple categorical IRT modeling [Computer software]. Scientific Software International.
  6. Eisinga, R., Te Grotenhuis, M., & Pelzer, B. (2013). The reliability of a two-item scale: Pearson, Cronbach, or Spearman-Brown? International Journal of Public Health, 58(4), 637-642.
  7. Eldesouky, L., & English, T. (2019a). Individual differences in emotion regulation goals: Does personality predict the reasons why people regulate their emotions? Journal of Personality, 87(4), 750-766.
  8. Eldesouky, L., & English, T. (2019b). Regulating for a reason: Emotion regulation goals are linked to spontaneous strategy use. Journal of Personality, 87(5), 948-961.
  9. Eldesouky, L., & Gross, J. J. (2019). Emotion regulation goals: An individual difference perspective. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 13(9), e12493.
  10. Elliot, A. J., & Reis, H. T. (2003). Attachment and exploration in adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 317-331. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.317
  11. English, T., Lee, I. A., John, O. P., & Gross, J. J. (2017). Emotion regulation strategy selection in daily life: The role of social context and goals. Motivation and Emotion, 41(2), 230-242.
  12. Fonte, C. (2011). Adaptação e validação para português do Questionário de Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (Portuguese adaptation and validation of the The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory) [Unpublished master's thesis]. University of Coimbra.
  13. Fraley, R. C., Heffernan, M. E., Vicary, A. M., & Brumbaugh, C. C. (2011). The experiences in close relationships-Relationship Structures Questionnaire: A method for assessing attachment orientations across relationships. Psychological Assessment, 23(3), 615-625.
  14. Gross, J. (2015). Handbook of emotion regulation. Guilford Press.
  15. Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348-362. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348
  16. Gruber, J., Mauss, I. B., & Tamir, M. (2011). A dark side of happiness? How, when, and why happiness is not always good. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(3), 222-233.
  17. Gudmundsson, E. (2009). Guidelines for translating and adapting psychological instruments. Nordic Psychology, 61(2), 29-45.
  18. Hooper, D., Coughlan, J., & Mullen, M. R. (2008). Structural equation modelling: Guidelines for determining model fit. Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 6(1), 53-60.
  19. Kristensen, T. S., Borritz, M., Villadsen, E., & Christensen, K. B. (2005). The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory: A new tool for the assessment of burnout. Work & Stress, 19, 192-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370500297720
  20. Kryza-Lacombe, M., Tanzini, E., & O'Neill, S. (2019). Hedonic and eudaimonic motives: Associations with academic achievement and negative emotional states among urban college students. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20(5), 1323-1341.
  21. Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(3), 335-343.
  22. Machado Vaz, F. J. (2009). Diferenciação e regulação emocional na idade adulta: tradução e validação de dois Instrumentos de avaliação para a população Portuguesa (Differentiation and emotional regulation in adulthood: Translation and validation of two instruments to the Portuguese population) [Unpublished master's thesis]. Instituto de Educação e Psicologia.
  23. Mauss, I. B., & Tamir, M. (2014). Emotion goals: How their content, structure, and operation shape emotion regulation. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 361-375). The Guilford Press.
  24. Meyers, L. S., Gamst, G., & Guarino, A. J. (2016). Applied multivariate research: Design and interpretation. Sage Publications
  25. Millgram, Y., Joormann, J., Huppert, J. D., & Tamir, M. (2015). Sad as a matter of choice? Emotion-regulation goals in depression. Psychological Science, 26(8), 1216-1228.
  26. Moreira, H., Martins, T., Gouveia, M. J., & Canavarro, M. C. (2015). Assessing adult attachment across different contexts: Validation of the Portuguese version of the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures Questionnaire. Journal of Personality Assessment, 97(1), 22-30.
  27. Ortner, C. N., Corno, D., Fung, T. Y., & Rapinda, K. (2018). The roles of hedonic and eudaimonic motives in emotion regulation. Personality and Individual Differences, 120, 209-212.
  28. Pais-Ribeiro, J. L., Honrado, A., & Leal, I. (2004). Contribution to the adaptation study of the Portuguese adaptation of the Lovibond and Lovibond depression anxiety stress scales (DAS) with 21 items. Psicologia, Saúde & Doenças, 5(2), 229-239.
  29. Samejima, F. (1997). Graded response model. In W. J. van der Linden, & R. K. Hambleton (Eds.), Handbook of modern item response theory (pp. 85-100). Springer.
  30. Sheinbaum, T., Kwapil, T. R., Ballespí, S., Mitjavila, M., Chun, C. A., Silvia, P. J., & Barrantes-Vidal, N. (2015). Attachment style predicts affect, cognitive appraisals, and social functioning in daily life. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 296. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00296
  31. Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics: International edition 2012. Pearson.
  32. Tamir, M. (2009). What do people want to feel and why? Pleasure and utility in emotion regulation. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(2), 101-105.
  33. Tamir, M. (2016). Why do people regulate their emotions? A taxonomy of motives in emotion regulation. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 20(3), 199-222.
  34. Tamir, M., Halperin, E., Porat, R., Bigman, Y. E., & Hasson, Y. (2019). When there's a will, there's a way: Disentangling the effects of goals and means in emotion regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 116, 795-816.
  35. Toland, M. D. (2014). Practical guide to conducting an item response theory analysis. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 34(1), 120-151.
  36. Teixeira, R. J., Brandão, T., &Dores, A. R. (2021). Academic stress, coping, emotion regulation, affect and psychosomatic symptoms in higher education. Current Psychology, ​1-10
  37. Wilms, R., Lanwehr, R., & Kastenmüller, A. (2020). Emotion regulation in everyday life: The role of goals and situational factors. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 877. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00877
  38. Wilms, R., Lanwehr, R., & Kastenmüller, A. (2021). Always look on the bright side of life? Exploring the between-variance and within-variance of emotion regulation goals. Motivation and Emotion, 45(2), 235-247.

Grants

  1. /FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

MeSH Term

Adult
Emotional Regulation
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Female
Goals
Humans
Male
Psychometrics
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult

Word Cloud

Created with Highcharts 10.0.0ERGStwoanalysisEmotionemotionpsychometricpropertiesitemresponsetheorygoalsregulationRegulationGoalsstudiesexaminewomenMStudyfactorCFAfive-factorstructureitemsOBJECTIVE:consideredparamountinfluencinginitiationmaintenancecessationRecentlyauthorsdevelopedinstrumentassessgoals-theScaleMETHOD:studyincludedaimedPortuguesesamples:400adultscommunity76%age = 37101205universitystudents80%age = 21722RESULTS:ConfirmatoryIRTusedsamplesconfirmed18-itemanalysessuggestedeliminationgivenlowerloadings/lowdiscriminationCONCLUSIONS:16proposedgoodreliabilityevidenceconstructvalidityrelevantconstructsScale:Advancingusingconfirmatorypsychometrics

Similar Articles

Cited By