Entwicklung und validierung eines fragebogens zur emotionsspezifischen selbsteinschätzung emotionaler kompetenzen (SEK-ES)

Numerous studies demonstrate the importance of emotion regulation skills for mental health. Unfortunately, many of these studies rely on self-report measures assessing ways of coping with emotions or mood states in general. Thus, it remains unclear which emotions participants refer to when completing these measures and whether skill level varies across specific emotional states. The aim of the present study is the development and validation of a questionnaire that allows an economic assessment of both emotion-specific and general emotion regulation skills. Based on the general emotion regulation skills questionnaire (ERSQ-27; Berking & Znoj, 2008) we developed an emotion-specific instrument (ERSQ-ES) to assess adaptive ways of coping with general distress, anxiety, anger, sadness, and depressed mood. Item characteristics, reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change of the ERSQ-ES were investigated in a nonclinical (N=358) and a clinical sample (N=579). Findings suggest good-to-very-good psychometric properties of the ERSQ-ES and demonstrate the need to systematically assess emotion regulation skills for specific emotions.