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Lin Zhu,1 Qian Zhang,1 Ke Ni,2 Xue-Jun Yang,1 Kai Jin,3 Wei Wei,4– 6 David A Preece,7,8 Bao-Ming Li,1,9 Xin-Lu Cai1,9 1Institute of Brain Science and Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Qiqihar Mental Health Center, Qiqihar, People’s Republic of China; 3The Fifth People’s Hospital of Lin’an District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Neurobiology, Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 5Liangzhu Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-Machine Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-Machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 6NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 7School of Population Health and Curtin enAble Institute, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia; 8School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia; 9Zhejiang Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory for Research in Early Development and Childcare, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xin-Lu Cai, Institute of Brain Science and Jing Hengyi School of Education, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 311121, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 571-28864320, Email caixinlu@hznu.edu.cnBackground: Abnormalities of regulating positive and negative emotion have been documented in patients with mental disorders. Valid and reliable psychological instruments for measuring emotion regulation across different valences are needed. The Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI) is a 32-item self-report measure recently developed to compressively assess emotion regulation ability across both positive and negative valences.Purpose: This study aimed to validate the Chinese PERCI in a large non-clinical sample and examine the clinical utility in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).Methods: The Chinese PERCI was administered to 1090 Chinese participants (mean age = 20.64 years, 773 females). The factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, concurrent validity, and predictive validity were examined. Moreover, a MDD group (n = 50) and a matched healthy control group (n = 50) were recruited. Group comparisons and the linear discriminant analysis were conducted to assess the clinical relevance of the PERCI.Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the intended eight-factor structure of the PERCI in the Chinese population. The PERCI showed high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, as well as good convergent and concurrent validity. The MDD group had significantly higher PERCI scores than the healthy control group. Linear discriminant function comprised of the eight factors successfully distinguish patients with MDD from their matched controls.Conclusion: The Chinese version of the PERCI is a valid and reliable instrument to compressively measure emotion regulation across positive and negative valences in the general Chinese population and patients with depression.Plain Language Summary: The Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory was designed to comprehensively assess emotion regulation ability across both positive and negative valences. This study provided the first translation and psychometric evaluation of the PERCI in the Chinese context. The findings support that the Chinese version of the PERCI is a reliable and valid measurement for assessing emotion regulation across positive and negative valences in research and clinical practice.Keywords: emotion regulation, reliability, validity, factor structure, depression

Background: Physical activity can support smoking cessation for smokers wanting to quit, but there have been no studies on supporting smokers wanting only to reduce. More broadly, the effect of motivational support for such smokers is unclear. Objectives The objectives were to determine if motivational support to increase physical activity and reduce smoking for smokers not wanting to immediately quit helps reduce smoking and increase abstinence and physical activity, and to determine if this intervention is cost-effective. Design This was a multicentred, two-arm, parallel-group, randomised (1 : 1) controlled superiority trial with accompanying trial-based and model-based economic evaluations, and a process evaluation. Setting and participants Participants from health and other community settings in four English cities received either the intervention (n = 457) or usual support (n = 458). Intervention The intervention consisted of up to eight face-to-face or telephone behavioural support sessions to reduce smoking and increase physical activity. Main outcome measures The main outcome measures were carbon monoxide-verified 6- and 12-month floating prolonged abstinence (primary outcome), self-reported number of cigarettes smoked per day, number of quit attempts and carbon monoxide-verified abstinence at 3 and 9 months. Furthermore, self-reported (3 and 9 months) and accelerometer-recorded (3 months) physical activity data were gathered. Process items, intervention costs and cost-effectiveness were also assessed. Results The average age of the sample was 49.8 years, and participants were predominantly from areas with socioeconomic deprivation and were moderately heavy smokers. The intervention was delivered with good fidelity. Few participants achieved carbon monoxide-verified 6-month prolonged abstinence [nine (2.0%) in the intervention group and four (0.9%) in the control group; adjusted odds ratio 2.30 (95% confidence interval 0.70 to 7.56)] or 12-month prolonged abstinence [six (1.3%) in the intervention group and one (0.2%) in the control group; adjusted odds ratio 6.33 (95% confidence interval 0.76 to 53.10)]. At 3 months, the intervention participants smoked fewer cigarettes than the control participants (21.1 vs. 26.8 per day). Intervention participants were more likely to reduce cigarettes by ≥ 50% by 3 months [18.9% vs. 10.5%; adjusted odds ratio 1.98 (95% confidence interval 1.35 to 2.90] and 9 months [14.4% vs. 10.0%; adjusted odds ratio 1.52 (95% confidence interval 1.01 to 2.29)], and reported more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity at 3 months [adjusted weekly mean difference of 81.61 minutes (95% confidence interval 28.75 to 134.47 minutes)], but not at 9 months. Increased physical activity did not mediate intervention effects on smoking. The intervention positively influenced most smoking and physical activity beliefs, with some intervention effects mediating changes in smoking and physical activity outcomes. The average intervention cost was estimated to be £239.18 per person, with an overall additional cost of £173.50 (95% confidence interval −£353.82 to £513.77) when considering intervention and health-care costs. The 1.1% absolute between-group difference in carbon monoxide-verified 6-month prolonged abstinence provided a small gain in lifetime quality-adjusted life-years (0.006), and a minimal saving in lifetime health-care costs (net saving £236). Conclusions There was no evidence that behavioural support for smoking reduction and increased physical activity led to meaningful increases in prolonged abstinence among smokers with no immediate plans to quit smoking. The intervention is not cost-effective. Limitations Prolonged abstinence rates were much lower than expected, meaning that the trial was underpowered to provide confidence that the intervention doubled prolonged abstinence. Future work Further research should explore the effects of the present intervention to support smokers who want to reduce prior to quitting, and/or extend the support available for prolonged reduction and abstinence. Trial registration This trial is registered as ISRCTN47776579. Funding This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full in Health Technology Assessment; Vol. 27, No. 4. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information. Plain language summary: NHS pharmacological and behavioural support helps smokers wanting to quit, and physical activity may also help. It is unclear if behavioural support for those not ready to quit may lead to more quit attempts and abstinence from smoking. A total of 915 smokers who wanted to reduce their smoking, but who had not yet quit, were recruited and randomised to receive an intervention or brief support as usual (brief advice to quit), in Plymouth, London, Oxford and Nottingham. The intervention involved up to eight sessions (by telephone or in person) of motivational support to reduce smoking and increase physical activity (and more sessions to support a quit attempt). Participants self-reported smoking and physical activity information at the start of the trial and after 3 and 9 months. Self-reported quitters confirmed their abstinence with a biochemical test of expired air or saliva. Our main interest was in whether or not the groups differed in the proportion who remained abstinent for at least 6 months. Overall, only 1–2% remained abstinent for 6 months. Although it appeared that a greater proportion did so after receiving the intervention, because few participants were abstinent, the results are not conclusive. However, the intervention had beneficial effects on less rigorous outcomes, including a reduction in the self-reported number of cigarettes smoked, and a greater proportion of intervention than control participants with self-reported and biochemically verified abstinence at 3 months. The intervention also helped participants to reduce, by at least half, the number of cigarettes they smoked at 3 and 9 months, and to report more physical activity, but only at 3 months. Despite reasonable intervention engagement and some short-term changes in smoking and physical activity, the trial does not provide evidence that this intervention would help smokers to quit for at least 6 months nor would it be cost-effective, with an average cost of £239 per smoker. Scientific summary: Background Behavioural support to aid smoking cessation is an effective and cost-effective intervention for smokers wanting to quit. Motivational support can reduce smoking, with greater reductions leading to successful quitting, but the evidence is fairly weak for those not wanting to immediately quit. Smoking reduction studies may involve two types of smokers: (1) those who want to quit and are willing to reduce first rather than quit abruptly and (2) those who do not want to quit (immediately) but are interested in smoking reduction or harm reduction. At least four studies have investigated the effects of behavioural support for smokers wanting to reduce but not quit, and provide imprecise or no evidence of effects on smoking reduction, quitting and sustained abstinence. Exercise has been shown to aid smoking cessation for those wanting to quit, but there is only exploratory evidence that promoting physical activity (PA) and supporting smoking reduction can facilitate smoking reduction and quitting. A definitive study is needed to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of behavioural support for smoking reduction and increasing PA, on smoking outcomes, especially prolonged, carbon monoxide-verified smoking abstinence. Objectives The overall aim of the Trial of physical Activity-assisted Reduction of Smoking (TARS) was to determine if adding a motivational intervention to reduce smoking and increase PA to usual support was more effective and cost-effective in facilitating carbon monoxide-verified 6-month floating prolonged abstinence. The specific research questions were as follows. Compared with usual support, did the TARS intervention: increase the proportion of participants achieving carbon monoxide-verified 6-month floating prolonged abstinence at 9 months post baseline? increase the proportion of participants reporting a ≥ 50% reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked (between baseline and 3 months, and baseline and 9 months)? increase the proportion of participants achieving carbon monoxide-verified 12-month floating prolonged abstinence at 15 months post baseline? increase the proportion of participants achieving self-reported and carbon monoxide-verified point prevalence abstinence at 3 and 9 months post baseline? increase self-reported PA at 3 and 9 months post baseline, and accelerometer-assessed PA at 3 months post baseline? improve body mass index, quality of life, sleep, cigarette cravings and other beliefs about smoking and PA at 3 and 9 months post baseline? What were the intervention, health-care and social care costs, compared with support as usual, at 9 months post baseline? Was the intervention cost-effective, compared with usual support, (1) at 9 months, and (2) over a longer-term/lifetime horizon? Were the trial methods and intervention acceptable and feasible, based on an embedded internal pilot phase? Did the intervention demonstrate good fidelity (design, training, delivery, receipt and enactment) and acceptability and what were the mechanisms of action of the intervention? Methods The study involved a multicentred, parallel, two-group, individually randomised controlled, superiority trial with a mixed-methods embedded process evaluation and economic evaluations. Recruitment took place over 16 months from January 2018, with follow-up assessments ending in October 2020 (with only minimal overlap with COVID-19 restrictions) around four English cities: Plymouth, Nottingham, London and Oxford. Intervention participants were offered up to eight face-to-face or telephone behavioural support sessions to reduce smoking and increase PA, with up to six additional sessions if a participant wanted support with cessation. Substantial patient and public involvement supported both the development and evaluation of a pilot trial of the intervention, and adaptations for the present intervention. An intervention manual underpinned the training and remote supervision of eight health trainers (HTs) across four sites, and all aspects of intervention fidelity (design, training, receipt, delivery and enactment) were assessed. The client-centred intervention was informed by motivational interviewing and linked to self-determination theory. It aimed to empower participants to decide what support they required, and where, when and for how long, and, if the participant became ready to quit, to provide appropriate support. Control participants received brief advice on smoking cessation. Participants were recruited from primary and secondary care and community settings. Participants were adult smokers (≥ 18 years) who smoked ≥ 10 cigarettes per day (for at least 1 year), who wanted to reduce smoking but not quit immediately. Smokers were ineligible if they were unable to engage in at least 15 minutes of moderate-intensity PA, had any illness or injury that might be exacerbated by exercise, or were unable to engage in the trial and/or the intervention because of a language barrier or for other reasons. Following screening and consent, participants completed baseline assessments face to face or via telephone. At 3 and 9 months post baseline, participants were posted a questionnaire (and an accelerometer at 3 months for a random sample). Participants reporting having made a quit attempt and not having smoked at follow-up were invited to complete a biochemical verification of abstinence. Most did this with a carbon monoxide expired air test, but a few were posted a saliva cotinine test kit late in the trial as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. Those with carbon monoxide-verified abstinence at 9 months were also followed up at 15 months. The primary outcome was carbon monoxide-verified 6-month floating prolonged (i.e. with no fixed quit date) abstinence between 3 and 9 months. Other smoking measures were carbon monoxide-verified 12-month floating prolonged abstinence, point prevalence self-reported abstinence and number of cigarettes smoked per day, and carbon monoxide-verified abstinence and number of quit attempts at both 3 and 9 months. Analyses of smoking abstinence outcomes were in line with the Russell Standard, with non-responders assumed to be still smoking. Self-reported (3 and 9 months) and accelerometer-recorded (3 months) PA, body mass index, sleep and quality of life were also assessed at 3 and 9 months. The embedded mixed-methods process evaluation was split into two phases: (1) an initial evaluation linked to the internal pilot phase and (2) the subsequent main trial phase, with four workstreams as follows – (1) data related to levels of intervention engagement; (2) assessment of intervention delivery, receipt and enactment fidelity, using survey items related to the intervention logic model and recorded intervention sessions; (3) mediation analyses of changes in PA and process measures on outcomes; and (4) an embedded qualitative study with HT and intervention participant interviews. The health economic evaluation included an estimation of the cost of delivering the intervention from data collected during the trial, supplemented by investigator estimates. A trial-based economic evaluation was conducted using patient-reported resource use and health-related quality of life (EuroQol-5 Dimensions, five-level version), collected in questionnaire booklets at baseline and at 3 and 9 months post randomisation. Aggregate costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) over a 9-month time horizon were estimated and regression methods were used to adjust for potential confounders. A decision-analytic model was developed following a review of the existing literature. Smoking cessation rates were assumed to affect rates of coronary obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease, stroke and lung cancer, as well as quality of life and other smoking-related causes of mortality. Lifetime costs and QALYs were estimated. Results The sample (n = 915) had a mean age of 49.8 [standard deviation (SD) 13.9] years; 55% were female and 85% identified as white. Sixty per cent lived within one of the four highest-ranked deciles for social deprivation. They initially smoked an average of 18.0 cigarettes daily, with 77.68% smoking within 30 minutes of waking, and reported doing a median of 337 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) weekly. Primary analysis Using the Russell Standard, assuming missing participant data at follow-up implied continued smoking, 0.9% (n = 4) of control and 2.0% (n = 9) of intervention participants achieved carbon monoxide-verified 6-month floating prolonged abstinence between 3 and 9 months. This difference was not statistically significant [fully adjusted estimated odds ratio 2.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.70 to 7.56; p = 0.169]. Including participants who achieved the outcome between 9 and 15 months increased this to 2.2% (n = 10) and 3.1% (n = 14) in the control and intervention groups, respectively, which was also not statistically significantly different (fully adjusted estimated odds ratio 1.43, 95% CI 0.62 to 3.26; p = 0.398). For the 19 and 20 participants followed up at 15 months, 0.2% (n = 1) and 1.3% (n = 6) of the overall control and intervention groups, respectively, achieved carbon monoxide-verified 12-month floating prolonged abstinence, which was also not statistically significantly different (fully adjusted estimated odds ratio 6.3, 95% CI 0.8 to 53.1; p = 0.089). Secondary outcomes The intervention had weak effects on self-reported 7-day point prevalence abstinence at 3 months (5.5% vs. 2.9%, adjusted odds ratio 1.99, 95% CI 1.00 to 3.94; p = 0.049), but there was no evidence of a statistically significant effect on carbon monoxide-verified point prevalence abstinence at 3 months (3.7% vs. 1.8%, adjusted odds ratio 2.19, 95% CI 0.93 to 5.14; p = 0.071). Nor was there an intervention effect at 9 or 15 months, compared with control, for either of these outcomes. The intervention group reported smoking fewer cigarettes daily than the control group at 3 months (adjusted mean difference –5.62, 95% CI –9.80 to –1.44; p = 0.009), but not at 9 months (adjusted mean difference 0.95, 95% CI –5.37 to 3.46; p = 0.671). A greater proportion of intervention participants reported having reduced their daily number of cigarettes smoked by at least 50%, up to 3 months (18.9% vs. 10.5%, adjusted odds ratio 1.98, 95% CI 1.35 to 2.90; p

Background/Objectives : The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) is a 10-item self-report measure of two emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal (CR) and expressive suppression (ES). This study aimed to (1) examine the latent structure of the Polish version of the ERQ, and (2) use it to explore different profiles of emotion regulation strategy use and their links with mental health outcomes. Methods : Our sample was 1197 Polish-speaking adults from the general community in Poland. Results : A factor analysis showed that the ERQ had strong factorial validity, with an intended two-factor structure (CR and ES factors) that was invariant across gender, age, and education categories, as well as across different levels of psychopathology symptoms and alexithymia. Our latent profile analysis extracted four emotion regulation profiles (subtypes): a Mainly Reappraisal profile (high CR, low ES), a Mainly Suppression profile (low CR with high ES), a Generally Low Regulation profile (low CR, low ES), and a Generally High Regulation profile (high CR, high ES). People with the Mainly Reappraisal profile had the best mental health outcomes, whereas people with the Mainly Suppression profile had the poorest mental health outcomes. Conclusions : Conceptually, these findings support the process model of emotion regulation , illustrating the differential affective outcomes of various emotion regulation strategies. Our results highlight the importance of considering individual differences in strategy use patterns, including combinations of strategies within an emotion regulation profile. The Polish version of the ERQ appears to be a robust measure of these key emotion regulation processes across a variety of demographic groups. To facilitate its use, including score interpretations in clinical practice, we present Polish percentile rank norms for the ERQ.

Important associations between emotional dysregulation (ED) and ADHD have been identified in adults, with a key manifestation of this being differential use of emotion regulation strategies: reduced use of cognitive reappraisal (CR), but elevated expressive suppression (ES). These associations have been observed at both behavioral and neuroimaging levels. The present study aims to explore the use of CR and ES in children with ADHD, and their relationship to ED. 148 children with ADHD and 265 healthy controls (age 9-16 years) were recruited and evaluated and correlated their ED, CR, and ES. Resting-state fMRI functional connectivity, with 6 amygdala subregions as regions-of-interest, were analyzed in a subsample to identify potential neural correlates. Children with ADHD showed significant higher ED, and lower use of both CR and ES. A significant negative correlation was found between CR and ED. Mediation analysis indicated that CR has an indirect influence on the relationship between ADHD diagnosis and ED. In the neuroimaging analyses, the functional connectivity between the right superficial amygdala and left middle occipital gyrus showed a significant group-by-ES interaction, highlighting potential neural correlates for elevated ED in children with ADHD. Children with ADHD expressed elevated levels of ED, and used less CR and ES compared to healthy controls. The lower use of ES may relate to abnormal amygdala connectivity in children with ADHD. This finding suggested that brain immaturity in children may preclude effective deployment of ES in emotion regulation processes., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Introduction: Alexithymia is elevated in chronic pain and relates to poor pain-related outcomes. However, despite concerns from other clinical populations, the psychometric properties of alexithymia measures have not been rigorously established in chronic pain., Objective: This study examined the psychometric properties of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 Item (TAS-20) and the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) in adults with chronic pain., Methods: An online sample of adults with chronic pain across the United States (N = 1453) completed the TAS-20, PAQ, and related questionnaires at baseline, 3-month follow-up, and 12-month follow-up., Results: Both measures showed good temporal stability, convergent validity (with emotion regulation scores), divergent validity (with depression and anxiety scores), and criterion validity. Some concerns were raised about the TAS-20: the original 3-factor structure showed a poor model fit; the Externally Oriented Thinking subscale of the TAS-20 had poor factor loadings and unacceptable internal consistency; and, we identified several TAS-20 items that may slightly inflate the predictive validity of the TAS-20 on pain-related outcomes. The original 5-factor structure of the PAQ showed a good fit; each PAQ subscale had good factor loadings and excellent internal consistency., Conclusions: Both the TAS-20 and PAQ had psychometric strengths. Our data raised some concern for the use of TAS-20 subscales; the PAQ may be a psychometrically stronger option, particularly for investigators interested in alexithymia subscale analysis in people with chronic pain., Competing Interests: Co-author D.A. Preece was an original developer of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to disclose.Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. on behalf of The International Association for the Study of Pain.)

Background/objectives: The Hogg Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS-13) is a thirteen-item measure of eco-anxiety, with four dimensions: (1) affective symptoms, (2) rumination, (3) behavioural symptoms, and (4) anxiety about personal impact. Being a recently developed questionnaire, data on its psychometrics are limited. The aim of this study was to introduce a Polish version of the HEAS-13 and examine its psychometric properties., Methods: Our sample consisted of 634 Polish-speaking adults, with ages ranging from 18 to 67 years. We assessed the HEAS-13's factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliabilities, and its concurrent validity via relationships with climate-related variables, psychopathology symptoms, and well-being. We put emphasis on examining the discriminant validity of the HEAS-13 against general psychological distress., Results: As expected, the Polish HEAS-13 demonstrated strong factorial validity with an intended four-factor structure. The internal consistency and test-retest reliabilities of the scale were good and moderate, respectively. Higher levels of eco-anxiety were associated with higher environmental concerns, the experience of climate change (i.e., one's perception of being affected by climate change), pro-environmental behavioural engagement, climate change worry, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, as well as lower levels of well-being. We empirically supported the strong discriminant validity of the HEAS-13, demonstrating that eco-anxiety was separable from general psychological distress. We also noted that females, younger people, and those with lower educational levels experienced higher eco-anxiety. To facilitate the use of this measure, we propose a potential screening cut-off value for the HEAS-13, which can indicate meaningfully elevated levels of eco-anxiety., Conclusions: Overall, the Polish version of the HEAS-13 has strong psychometric properties, usefully enabling the examination of climate-related anxiety. Our findings highlight its potential in cross-cultural research and healthcare practice.

The current study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Short Form (DERS-SF) in Iran, including testing its measurement invariance across sexes, as well as community and student populations. Two samples were recruited: a community sample of 583 participants (58.7% female; M age = 33.55) and a university student sample of 409 participants (67.2% female; M age = 24.48). Besides the DERS-SF, participants completed a battery of instruments online, measuring mentalizing capacity and borderline personality features. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the tenability of the five-factor model, excluding the awareness subscale. Except for the awareness subscale, acceptable to excellent internal consistencies were found for the DERS-SF and its subscales. The awareness-excluded DERS-SF was significantly and strongly associated with relevant constructs (|r s | = .49 to .59). This study also found evidence for configural, metric, and scalar invariance of the DERS-SF across sexes and community and student populations. Our findings extended the evidence for the validity and reliability of the DERS-SF and its awareness-excluded version by administering it in Iranian samples and supporting its cross-cultural applicability.

The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Short Form (ERQ-S) is a brief 6-item self-report measure of two emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. It is a short form of the most widely used emotion regulation measure in the field, but currently there are limited data on the performance of the ERQ-S. The aim of this study was to introduce a Polish version of the ERQ-S, examine its psychometric properties and provide Polish norms to aid score interpretation. Our sample was 574 Polish-speaking adults aged 18-69 from the general community in Poland. We examined the ERQ-S's factor structure and measurement invariance with confirmatory factor analysis. We assessed the concurrent validity of the questionnaire via relationships with psychopathology symptoms and well-being. As expected, the Polish version of the ERQ-S demonstrated strong factorial validity with a theoretically congruent 2-factor structure (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression factors), which was invariant across gender, age and education categories. The ERQ-S's concurrent validity and internal consistency reliability were good. As expected, cognitive reappraisal was significantly associated with lower psychopathology symptoms and higher well-being, whereas the opposite pattern was present for expressive suppression. Overall, the Polish version of the ERQ-S has strong psychometric properties and good clinical relevance., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests exist., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Alexithymia is an important transdiagnostic risk factor for many psychopathologies. To explore its relevance for personality disorders, we examined the association between alexithymia and maladaptive personality traits, as conceptualized within the DSM-5-TR Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (i.e., negative affect, detachment, antagonism, disinhibition, psychoticism). Participants ( N = 651) completed a battery of psychometric questionnaires. Regressions revealed that alexithymia facets accounted for a significant 15% of the variance in negative affect, 22% in detachment, 11% in antagonism, 18% in disinhibition, and 25% in psychoticism. Latent profile analysis showed that profiles with more severe personality pathology were generally characterized by more severe levels of alexithymia. Overall, our data highlight that alexithymia is important in understanding personality dysfunction. All facets of alexithymia, across both positive and negative emotions, are linked to each maladaptive personality trait. The assessment and targeting of alexithymia may therefore be of high relevance for the treatment of personality pathology.

Emotion dysregulation is a common sequela after a brain injury, and it can have serious negative consequences for individuals, families, and the community. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify and evaluate interventions designed to improve emotion regulation ability in adults with acquired brain injury. Studies were identified on ProQuest, PsycInfo, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Web of Science; last searched on 3 August 2023. A review protocol was prospectively registered on PROSPERO (CRD42020218175). Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk-of-Bias tool (version 2). Sixteen studies were included in the review comprising one case series, five pilot studies, four pre-post studies, and six RCTs. There was a total of 652 participants across studies. Fourteen of the sixteen studies reported statistically significant improvements in at least one emotional functioning variable. Ten studies reported medium-large effect sizes. Limitations included inconsistency in the measurement, reporting of intervention outcomes and processes. Future directions are discussed.

Purpose: There is a common mischaracterisation that autistic individuals have reduced or absent empathy. Measurement issues may have influenced existing findings on the relationships between autism and empathy, and the structure of the empathy construct in autism remains unclear., Methods: The present study sought to address these gaps by examining the structure and psychometric properties of the Perth Empathy Scale (PES) in autistic individuals (N = 239) compared to non-autistic individuals (N = 690)., Results: Our moderated non-linear factor analysis revealed that the multidimensional empathy construct manifested similarly in autistic and non-autistic individuals, with the PES displaying good validity and reliability. Moreover, the results revealed that autistic individuals reported reduced cognitive empathy and reduced affective empathy for positive and negative emotions. However, there was greater heterogeneity of empathic tendencies in the autistic sample, indicating that these mean differences may not be generalisable for all autistic individuals., Conclusion: The present study highlights that the PES is suitable for assessing empathy across autistic and non-autistic individuals. This work with the PES also provides greater nuance to our understanding of empathy and autism, and based on these findings, we propose the empathy heterogeneity hypothesis of autism as a new way of describing empathy in autism., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Personality pathology is associated with emotional problems that are potentially attributable to problematic emotion regulation strategy patterns. We evaluated the emotion regulation strategies associated with the pathological personality traits in the Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD). A total of 504 participants completed measures of AMPD traits and strategy usage, which were analyzed using hierarchical regressions and latent profile analysis (LPA). Regression results demonstrated that each trait was associated with a unique strategy pattern: negative affect with emotional overengagement, detachment with socialemotional avoidance, antagonism with emotional externalization/avoidance, disinhibition with emotional avoidance and overengagement, and psychoticism with strategies linked to psychotic/dissociative experiences. The LPA identified three profiles with heightened AMPD traits: an internalizing/distressed profile, an externalizing/distressed profile, and a schizoid-schizotypal profile; each had a unique strategy pattern that varied depending on trait composition. This research highlights the relevance of emotion regulation strategy patterns in the assessment, conceptualization, and treatment of personality pathology.

Background: Alexithymia is a multidimensional trait comprised of difficulties identifying feelings, difficulties describing feelings, and externally orientated thinking. It is regarded as an important risk factor for emotional disorders, but there are presently limited data on each specific facet of alexithymia, or the extent to which deficits in processing negative emotions, positive emotions, or both, are important. In this study, we address these gaps by using the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) to comprehensively examine the relationships between alexithymia and depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms., Methods: University students (N = 1250) completed the PAQ and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21. Pearson correlations, hierarchical regressions, and latent profile analysis were conducted., Results: All facets of alexithymia, across both valence domains, were significantly correlated with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms (r = 0.27-0.40). Regression analyses indicated that the alexithymia facets, together, could account for a significant 14.6 %-16.4 % of the variance in depression, anxiety, and stress. Difficulties identifying negative feelings and difficulties identifying positive feelings were the strongest unique predictors across all symptom categories. Our latent profile analysis extracted eight profiles, comprising different combinations of alexithymia facets and psychopathology symptoms, collectively highlighting the transdiagnostic relevance of alexithymia facets., Limitations: Our study involved a student sample, and further work in clinical samples will be beneficial., Conclusions: Our data indicate that all facets of alexithymia, across both valence domains, are relevant for understanding depression, anxiety, and stress. These findings demonstrate the value of facet-level and valence-specific alexithymia assessments, informing more comprehensive understanding and more targeted treatments of emotional disorder symptoms., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Given the differences in emotion regulation across cultures, it is paramount to ensure that measures of emotion regulation measure the same construct and that conceptualizations of emotion regulation are valid across cultures. Therefore, the present study assessed the measurement invariance (alongside other psychometric properties) of three popular emotion regulation questionnaires, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and the Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI), across 434 Singaporeans and 489 Australians. Our study showed that all three questionnaires were measurement invariant, had excellent internal consistency, and relatively good concurrent validity with psychopathology and alexithymia across our Singaporean and Australian sample, justifying their use in comparing Asian and Western cultures. Our findings suggest that measures of emotion regulation have utility across both individualistic and collectivistic cultures. Our findings supports the use of these measures in cross-cultural research and provides support for the utility for personality assessments across cultures.

Objective: Alterations of empathy have been observed in patients with various mental disorders. The Perth Empathy Scale (PES) was recently developed to measure a multidimensional construct of empathy across positive and negative emotions. However, its psychometric properties and clinical applications have not been examined in the Chinese context., Methods: The Chinese version of the PES was developed and administered to a large Chinese sample (n = 1090). Factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent, discriminant, as well as concurrent validity were examined. Moreover, 50 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 50 healthy controls were recruited to explore the clinical utility of the PES., Results: Confirmatory factor analyses supported a theoretically congruent three-factor structure of empathy, namely Cognitive Empathy, Negative Affective Empathy and Positive Affective Empathy. The PES showed good to excellent internal consistency reliability, good convergent and discriminant validity, acceptable concurrent validity, and moderate to high test-retest reliability. Patients with MDD had significantly lower PES scores compared to healthy controls. Linear discriminant function comprised of the three factors correctly differentiated 71% of participants, which further verified the clinical utility of the PES., Conclusions: Our findings indicated that the Chinese version of the PES is a reliable and valid instrument to measure cognitive and affective empathy across negative and positive emotions, and could therefore be used in both research and clinical practice., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: The Emotion Beliefs Questionnaire was recently developed to measure beliefs about the controllability and usefulness of negative and positive emotions. These are beliefs that have been theorised to be influential for emotion regulation and psychological outcomes. However, to date there are few studies utilising large, representative samples to examine the EBQ's psychometric properties and affective correlates. Our aim was to fill this gap by examining the EBQ's psychometric properties and exploring associations between emotion beliefs, emotion regulation, and affective disorder symptoms., Methods: A sample of 1175 adults recruited from the general population in the United States completed measures of emotion beliefs, emotion regulation, and affective disorder symptoms., Results: Confirmatory factor analyses supported the EBQ's intended subscale structure, where controllability and usefulness beliefs were separated by valence. This structure was invariant across gender, age, and education categories. The EBQ correlated in expected ways with other measures, demonstrating good validity, and had good to excellent levels of internal consistency reliability., Limitations: This study used a non-clinical sample that was predominantly White. Future work should utilise clinical and cross-cultural samples to maximise generalisability of findings., Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the EBQ is a psychometrically sound tool for measuring the multidimensional emotion belief construct. The EBQ may have clinical utility in the conceptualisation, assessment, and treatment of maladaptive emotion beliefs. Furthermore, our results highlight the importance of considering the potential influence of maladaptive emotion beliefs in emotion dysregulation and affective disorder symptoms., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The Repetitive Behaviours Questionnaire for Adults (RBQ-2A) measures two factors of restricted and repetitive behaviours (RRBs) associated with autism. However, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) provides four criteria for RRBs: repetitive motor behaviours, insistence on sameness, restricted interests, and interest in sensory aspects of the environment (or atypical sensitivity). The current paper aimed to examine whether the RBQ-2A is a psychometrically sound measure of these four factors. Study 1 had university students (N = 368) complete the RBQ-2A and other related measures online and revealed that the RBQ-2A can assess the factors highlighted in the DSM-5 and that these four factors comprise a general RRB construct. Study 2 had individuals disclosing a diagnosis of autism (N = 283) complete the RBQ-2A and other related measures online and supported that this four-factor structure provided good psychometric properties. While the current paper provides findings for an online autistic population, further research is needed to generalize these findings to autistic individuals less likely to partake in online studies (e.g., those with intellectual or language disabilities). Overall, the results suggest that the RBQ-2A reliably and validly assesses RRBs., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Developing valid and reliable measures of psychological responses to climate change is of high importance, as this facilitates our understanding of people's psychological responses, including their pro-environmental behavior. Recently, the Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS) was introduced. This study aimed to develop the first Polish version of the CCWS and explore its psychometric properties. Our sample comprised 420 Polish adults aged 18-70, with a mean age of 26.20 (standard deviation = 10.61) years. The CCWS's factor structure was assessed with confirmatory factor analysis. McDonald's omega and Cronbach's alpha coefficients were computed to assess internal consistency reliability. Pearson correlations between climate change worry (CCW) and experience of climate change (i.e., an individual's level of perception of being affected by climate change), pro-environmental behavior, ill-being (i.e., anxiety and depression symptoms), and well-being were calculated. Our results support the strong factorial validity of the CCWS, conforming to its intended one-factor solution, with excellent internal consistency reliability for the total scale score (i.e., McDonald's omega and Cronbach's alpha values of 0.93). We noted large positive correlations between CCW and experiences of climate change, as well as pro-environmental behavior, and medium positive correlations with psychopathology symptoms. CCW scores were not associated with well-being. As the CCWS represents a measure of a specific manifestation of worry, we also examined its discriminant validity against more general psychological distress markers, and it evidenced strong validity in this regard. Overall, the Polish version of the CCWS appears to have strong psychometric properties, and will therefore be a useful tool to use in research on psychological responses to climate change.

Background: Alexithymia is an important transdiagnostic risk factor for emotion-based psychopathologies. However, it remains unclear whether alexithymia questionnaires actually measure alexithymia, or whether they measure emotional distress. Our aim here was to address this discriminant validity concern via exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ)., Method: United States general community adults (N = 508) completed the TAS-20, PAQ, and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21). EFA was used to examine the latent dimensions underlying these measures' scores., Results: Our EFA extracted two higher-order factors, an "alexithymia" factor and a "general distress" factor (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress). All PAQ scores loaded cleanly on the alexithymia factor, with no cross-loadings on the distress factor. However, for the TAS-20, Difficulty Identifying Feelings (DIF) facet scores cross-loaded highly on the distress factor., Limitations: Our sample consisted of general community adults; future work in clinical settings will be useful., Conclusions: Our data indicate that the PAQ has good discriminant validity. However, the TAS-20 appears to have significant discriminant validity problems, in that much of the variance in its DIF facet reflects people's current levels of distress, rather than alexithymia. The TAS-20, which has traditionally been the most widely used alexithymia questionnaire, may therefore not be the optimal alexithymia tool. Our findings add to the body of evidence supporting the validity and utility of the PAQ and suggest that, moving forward, it is a superior option to the TAS-20 for alexithymia assessments., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Suicidal behaviors are prevalent among college students; however, students remain reluctant to seek support. We developed a predictive algorithm to identify students at risk of suicidal behavior and used telehealth to reduce subsequent risk., Methods: Data come from s everal waves of a prospective cohort study (2016-2022) of college students ( n = 5454). All first-year students were invited to participate as volunteers. (Response rates range: 16.00-19.93%). A stepped-care approach was implemented: (i) all students received a comprehensive list of services; (ii) those reporting past 12-month suicidal ideation were directed to a safety planning application; (iii) those identified as high risk of suicidal behavior by the algorithm or reporting 12-month suicide attempt were contacted via telephone within 24-h of survey completion. Intervention focused on support/safety-planning, and referral to services for this high-risk group., Results: 5454 students ranging in age from 17-36 (s.d. = 5.346) participated; 65% female. The algorithm identified 77% of students reporting subsequent suicidal behavior in the top 15% of predicted probabilities (Sensitivity = 26.26 [95% CI 17.93-36.07]; Specificity = 97.46 [95% CI 96.21-98.38], PPV = 53.06 [95% CI 40.16-65.56]; AUC range: 0.895 [95% CIs 0.872-0.917] to 0.966 [95% CIs 0.939-0.994]). High-risk students in the Intervention Cohort showed a 41.7% reduction in probability of suicidal behavior at 12-month follow-up compared to high-risk students in the Control Cohort., Conclusions: Predictive risk algorithms embedded into universal screening, coupled with telehealth intervention, offer significant potential as a suicide prevention approach for students.

Background: The alexithymia trait is of high clinical interest. The Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) was recently developed to enable detailed facet-level and valence-specific assessments of alexithymia., Aims: In this paper, we introduce the first Chinese version of the PAQ and examine its psychometric properties and clinical applications., Methods: In Study 1, the PAQ was administered to 990 Chinese participants. We examined its factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, as well as convergent, concurrent and discriminant validity. In Study 2, four groups, including a major depressive disorder (MDD) group (n=50), a matched healthy control group for MDD (n=50), a subclinical depression group (n=50) and a matched healthy control group for subclinical depression (n=50), were recruited. Group comparisons were conducted to assess the clinical relevance of the PAQ., Results: In Study 1, the intended five-factor structure of the PAQ was found to fit the data well. The PAQ showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability, as well as good convergent, concurrent and discriminant validity. In Study 2, the PAQ was able to successfully distinguish the MDD group and the subclinical depression group from their matched healthy controls., Conclusions: The Chinese version of the PAQ is a valid and reliable instrument for comprehensively assessing alexithymia in the general population and adults with clinical/subclinical depression., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Recent work has served to dissociate two dimensions of trait body dissatisfaction: body dissatisfaction frequency and body dissatisfaction duration. The present study sought to evaluate whether body dissatisfaction frequency and body dissatisfaction duration are each associated with distinct patterns of appearance-related cognitive processing. It was hypothesized that speeded attentional engagement with idealized bodies is associated with higher frequency of body dissatisfaction episodes, while slowed attentional disengagement from such information may instead be associated with higher duration of body dissatisfaction episodes. Participants (238 women, 149 men) completed an attentional task capable of independently assessing attentional engagement with, and attentional disengagement from, idealized bodies. Participants also completed both trait and in vivo (i.e., ecological momentary assessment) measures of body dissatisfaction frequency and duration. Results showed that neither engagement nor disengagement bias index scores predicted variance in either body dissatisfaction frequency measures or body dissatisfaction duration measures. Findings suggest that either biased attentional engagement with, and disengagement from, idealized bodies do not associate with the frequency and duration of body dissatisfaction episodes, or there are other key moderating factors involved in the expression of body dissatisfaction-linked attentional bias., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Research has suggested an increase in loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, but much of this work has been cross-sectional, making causal inferences difficult. In the present research, we employed a longitudinal design to identify loneliness trajectories within a period of twelve months during the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium ( N  = 2106). We were particularly interested in the potential protective role of self-compassion in these temporal dynamics. Using a group-based trajectory modelling approach, we identified trajectory groups of individuals following low (11.0%), moderate-low (22.4%), moderate (25.7%), moderate-high (31.3%), and high (9.6%) levels of loneliness. Findings indicated that younger people, women, and individuals with poor quality relationships, high levels of health anxiety, and stress related to COVID-19, all had a higher probability of belonging to the highest loneliness trajectory groups. Importantly, we also found that people high in two of the three facets of self-compassion (self-kindness and common humanity) had a lower probability of belonging to the highest loneliness trajectory groups. Ultimately, we demonstrated that trajectory groups reflecting higher levels of loneliness were associated with lower life satisfaction and greater depressive symptoms. We discuss the possibility that increasing self-compassion may be used to promote better mental health in similarly challenging situations.

Background: A range of traumas have been linked to voices (auditory verbal hallucinations) and unusual perceptual experiences (UPEs) in other perceptual-sensory domains. Models of PTSD and positive symptoms of psychosis are insufficient in explaining the relationship between trauma and voices. The trauma-related voices (TRV) model was developed to generate novel research in this area., Aims: This study aimed to investigate pathways from trauma to the frequency of UPEs based on a subset of hypothesised relationships in the TRV model., Materials: The PTSD Diagnostic Scale for DSM-5, State Adult Attachment Measure, Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales-21, Perth Emotion and Regulation Competency Inventory, Dissociative Experiences Measure Oxford, and Multi-modality Unusual Perceptual Experiences Questionnaire., Methods: We used path analysis in a non-clinical sample (N = 528) to model indirect effects from diverse trauma experiences to the frequency of multi-sensory UPEs via a subset of mediators within the TRV model: insecure attachment, emotion regulation deficits, negative affect and dissociation., Results: Our model was an excellent fit to the data and accounted for 37.1% of variance in UPE frequency, and all direct (βs = .14-.61) and indirect pathways (βs = .01-.08) were significant (ps < .001)., Discussion: Our findings suggest that insecure attachment may link diverse trauma experiences to emotion regulation deficits and negative affect, which are linked to UPE frequency via dissociation., Conclusion: Our findings provide preliminary evidence for a subset of relationships within the TRV model. Future studies are needed to gather stronger evidence of temporality and causation between these factors, and to test broader pathways within the TRV model., (© 2023 The Authors. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The British Psychological Society.)

Emotional disorders are pervasive in the acquired brain injury (ABI) population, adversely affecting quality of life and rehabilitation. This study aimed to explore the unique associative effects of alexithymia as measured by the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ; i.e., difficulty identifying positive/negative feelings, difficulty describing positive/negative feelings, and externally orientated thinking), on emotional outcomes as measured by the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory (MPAI-4) Adjustment index, in 83 adults with ABI. The addition of alexithymia to hierarchical multiple regression models (controlling for demographic, injury-related, and functional outcome variables) yielded statistically significant changes in R 2 for all emotional outcome measures (i.e., Depression, Anxiety, Stress, and Adjustment). Difficulty identifying negative feelings was found to be a significant unique predictor of Depression ( β  = .43 p  = <.001), Anxiety ( β  = .40, p <.001), Stress ( β  = .49, p <.001), and Adjustment ( β  = .26, p  = .001). Externally oriented thinking was found to be a significant unique predictor of Adjustment ( β  = -.15, p  = .033). These findings strengthen the argument that alexithymia, especially difficulties identifying negative feelings, may be an important risk factor for psychological distress in ABI and should be considered during early rehabilitation.

The Perth Empathy Scale (PES) is a 20-item self-report questionnaire that assesses people's ability to recognize emotions in others (i.e., cognitive empathy) and vicariously experience other's emotions (i.e., affective empathy), across positive and negative emotions. Originally developed in English, the aim of our study was to introduce the first Polish version of the PES and test its psychometric performance. Our sample was 318 people (184 females, 134 males) with ages ranging from 18 to 77. The factor structure was verified with confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was tested in terms of internal consistency and test-retest reliability. To explore convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity, we examined relationships between the PES and measures of depression, anxiety, and emotional intelligence. It was shown that the scale was characterized by the intended four-factor solution, thus supporting factorial validity. The internal consistency reliability was also good and test-retest reliability was moderate. The convergent, divergent, and discriminant validity were strong. The clinical importance of assessing affective empathy across both positive and negative emotions was supported. Overall, our results therefore suggest that the Polish version of the PES has strong psychometric performance and clinical relevance as a measure of the multidimensional empathy construct.

Background: Emotion regulation plays a crucial role in affective functioning. One of the most commonly used measures of emotion regulation is the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), a 10-item self-report measure assessing frequency of use of two common emotion regulation strategies: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. In this study, we aimed to optimize the utility of the ERQ for time-pressured settings by introducing and validating a 6-item short form called the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Short Form (ERQ-S)., Method: General community (N = 508) and college student (N = 245) samples from the United States completed online surveys containing a range of psychometric self-report measures. For each sample, we examined the factor structure, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of the ERQ-S., Results: Our confirmatory factor analyses supported the intended 2-factor structure of the ERQ-S (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression factors), with all items loading well on their intended factor in both samples. As expected, the ERQ-S correlated highly with the ERQ. A profile of low cognitive reappraisal use and high expressive suppression use on the ERQ-S was significantly associated with higher levels of emotion regulation difficulties, alexithymia, and affective symptoms., Limitations: We did not examine psychometric performance in a clinical sample, or other cultural groups outside the US. All concurrent validity markers were self-report questionnaires., Conclusions: Our data suggest that the ERQ-S successfully retains the psychometric strengths of the ERQ. The shorter format of the ERQ-S should therefore help to optimize the measurement of emotion regulation in time-pressured settings., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in heightened stress for families in the United States, and exposure to pandemic-related stress has been found to confer risk for mental health problems among both children and parents. To isolate risk and protective factors for children living through the ongoing pandemic, several studies have begun to examine family-level factors that may exacerbate or buffer the impact of exposure to COVID-19-related stress on children's symptomatology. Building upon the extant literature documenting associations between parents' emotion regulation and children's mental health, especially during times of stress, the present study aimed to examine parents' regulation of their own emotions as a potential moderator of the association between children's exposure to family-level COVID-19-related stress and internalizing and externalizing problems. Results suggest that parents' regulation of their own emotions using expressive suppression, specifically, may exacerbate the effect of exposure to pandemic-related stress on children's internalizing problems, but not externalizing problems. Results highlight the importance of prioritizing parents' mental health and self-regulation in prevention and intervention efforts aimed at improving family-wide mental health outcomes during public health crises that place family systems under significant stress. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Empathy, the ability to infer and share others' affective states, plays a vital role in social interactions. However, no existing scale comprehensively assesses empathy's cognitive and affective components across positive and negative emotional valence domains. This article explores the latent structure of the empathy construct and attempts to remedy past measurement limitations by developing and validating a new 20-item self-report measure, the Perth Empathy Scale (PES). In Study 1 ( N = 316), factor analyses revealed a coherent empathy construct comprised of cognitive and valence-specific affective components. Study 2 ( N = 331) replicated this factor structure, showed measurement invariance between males and females, and highlighted the importance of assessing negative and positive emotions in empathy. The PES showed convergent and discriminant validity from comparisons with alexithymia and other empathy measures. Overall, this article empirically establishes a conceptually clear structure of the multidimensional empathy construct, which the PES reliably and validly measures.

Background: Alexithymia is a trait characterized by difficulties identifying feelings, difficulties describing feelings, and externally orientated thinking. It is widely regarded as an important transdiagnostic risk factor for a range of psychopathologies, including depressive and anxiety disorders. Whilst several well-validated psychometric measures of alexithymia exist, these are relatively lengthy, thus limiting their utility in time-pressured settings. In this paper, we address this gap by introducing and validating a brief 6-item version of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire, called the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire-Short Form (PAQ-S)., Method: Across two studies with adult samples (Study 1 N = 508 United States community; Study 2 = 378 Australian college students), we examined the psychometric properties of the PAQ-S in terms of its factor structure, reliability, and concurrent/criterion validity., Results: In exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, all PAQ-S items loaded well on a single general alexithymia factor. The PAQ-S total score had high reliability, and correlated as expected with the long-form of the PAQ, as well as other established markers of alexithymia, emotion regulation, and affective disorder symptoms., Limitations: Our samples were general community or college student samples from two Western countries; future validation work in clinical samples and more diverse cultural groups is thus needed., Conclusions: The PAQ-S retains the psychometric strengths of the PAQ. As such, the PAQ-S can be used as a quick, robust measure of overall alexithymia levels. The introduction of the PAQ-S hence enables valid assessments of alexithymia in a more diverse range of settings and research designs., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest None., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Intolerance of uncertainty (IU) is a dimensional trait fundamental to most psychopathologies, and anxiety disorders in particular, making it an important transdiagnostic construct for researchers and clinicians. Current psychological therapies focus on changing underlying cognitive assumptions related to uncertainty. However, we posit that IU conveys beliefs about emotions too. In line with established findings on beliefs about emotions in general, we tested the hypothesis that the relationship between IU and anxiety is mediated by beliefs about the controllability and/or usefulness of emotions., Methods: Participants (N = 2260) were administered the Emotions Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ); the General Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7), and the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS - 12). A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) on the EBQ was conducted followed by Pearson correlation coefficients among the central measures, and a parallel mediation analysis to address the central research question., Results: Our CFA supported the intended factor structure of the EBQ. The results of our mediation analysis supported the prediction that the association between IU and anxiety is partially mediated by general beliefs about emotions., Limitations: Although our sample size was large, the age range was limited so future research could expand the age range to maximise generalizability. This is a cross-sectional study so causal inferences are restricted., Conclusion: Given the present findings, current interventions for IU and their focus on beliefs about uncertainty, might benefit from incorporating strategies to improve beliefs about emotions, and thus improve therapeutic effectiveness., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest None., (Crown Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Alexithymia is a key transdiagnostic risk factor for emotion-based psychopathologies. Conceptual models specify that this is because alexithymia impairs emotion regulation. However, the extent of these putative emotion regulation impairments remains underexplored. Our aim in this study was to begin to address this gap by examining whether people with high, average, or low levels of alexithymia differ in the types of emotion regulation strategies they typically use., Method: General community adults from the United States (N = 501) completed a battery of alexithymia and emotion regulation measures. Participants were grouped into high, average, and low alexithymia quantiles., Results: After controlling for demographics and current levels of distress, the high, average, and low alexithymia groups differed in their use of cognitive and behavioral emotion regulation strategies. Compared to the other groups, the high alexithymia group reported lesser use of generally adaptive regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal, approaching problems, and seeking social support) and greater use of generally maladaptive regulation strategies (expressive suppression, behavioral withdrawal, ignoring)., Limitations: Our data were cross-sectional and from self-report questionnaires. Future work in other cultural groups would be beneficial., Conclusions: Our results support the view that alexithymia is associated with impaired emotion regulation. In particular, people with high alexithymia seem to exhibit a less adaptive profile of emotion regulation strategies. Direct targeting of these emotion regulation patterns in psychotherapy may therefore be a useful pathway for the treatment of emotional disorder symptoms in people with high alexithymia., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest None., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Emotion dysregulation (ED) is a common clinical feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The present study examined the role of cognitive reappraisal (CR) and expressive suppression (ES) in adults with ADHD. In addition, resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) data were analyzed to identify neural substrates of CR/ES-ED relationships., Methods: A total of 309 adults with ADHD and 163 healthy controls were recruited. ED was assessed using the 'emotional control' (EC) subscale from Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire was used to measure CR and ES. The functional connectivities (FCs) with the amygdala as Region of Interest, were analyzed in a subsample to explore their association with CR, ES and EC, respectively., Results: Higher EC scores (indicative of lesser emotional control), as well as lower CR and higher ES utilization were detected in adults with ADHD compared with healthy controls. CR and ES were both negatively correlated with EC in adults with ADHD. Mediation analysis detected a potential effect of ADHD diagnosis on EC via CR. In addition, a unique significant mediation effect was found between ES-related FC of the right amygdala-prefrontal cortex and ED expression in adults with ADHD, confirming the '↑ES → ↓FCs [amygR-PFC] →↓EC' relationship., Limitations: Only self-reported scales and rs-fMRI data were included in these analyses., Conclusions: Our findings provide preliminary evidence that in adults with ADHD, less frequent use of CR accounts for ED expression, while more frequent use of ES may play a unique compensatory role in emotion regulation., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) is a 24-item self-report measure of alexithymia. Originally developed in English, it was designed to try to enable more comprehensive (i.e., facet-level and valence-specific) alexithymia assessments. This study aimed to introduce and validate a Polish version of the PAQ. Our sample were 1,008 people (69.44% females, 30.06% males and 0.50% non-binary) aged 18-78 ( M = 29.69, SD = 14.15) from the general community. The PAQ's factor structure was verified with confirmatory factor analysis, and convergent and divergent validity were assessed via relationships with other measures of alexithymia and mental health symptoms. Our results indicated strong factorial validity, conforming to the intended subscale structure. As expected, all PAQ subscales correlated in expected directions with another established alexithymia measure, and markers of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. The PAQ showed good discriminant validity in terms of measuring an alexithymia construct that was separable from people's current level of distress. Test-retest and internal consistency reliabilities were also good. Overall, the Polish PAQ therefore appears to have strong psychometric properties. Our findings add to a growing body of literature supporting the validity of the PAQ, and the multidimensional nature of the alexithymia construct, across different nations and languages., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Larionow, Preece and Mudło-Głagolska.)

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted children's mental health. All children have not been affected equally, however, and whether parental emotion socialization might buffer or exacerbate the impact of COVID-19 on children's mental health remains an important question., Method: During the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. N  = 200 parents of children ages 0-17 (52.5% female) completed questionnaires related to parental assistance with children's emotion regulation, symptomatology, and exposure to COVID-19-related stress. Parents were 74% Non-Hispanic/Latino/a White, 13% Asian, 4.5% Hispanic/Latino/a, 4% Black/African American, 2.5% Native American, and 1.5% bi/multiracial; 0.5% of participants preferred not to state their race/ethnicity. In a series of linear regression analyses, we examined whether parental assistance with children's execution of emotion regulation strategies - across a variety of prototypically-adaptive and -maladaptive strategies - moderates the association between children's exposure to COVID-19-related stress and symptomatology., Results: Results suggest that parental assistance with the execution of prototypically-adaptive strategies (i.e., acceptance, problem solving, behavioral disengagement) and prototypically-maladaptive strategies (i.e., suppression, rumination) may buffer or exacerbate, respectively, the impact of COVID-19-related stress on youth mental health., Conclusions: Though interpretation of findings is constrained by limitations inherent in collecting data during a pandemic, results highlight the importance of supporting parents - who play a critical role of supporting children - during public health emergencies that affect family life. Interventions designed to improve child wellbeing during the ongoing pandemic may benefit from training parents to assist their children with specific emotion regulation strategies.

This work proposes that trait body dissatisfaction rests on two dissociable components: 1) frequency of body dissatisfaction episodes, and 2) duration of such episodes, with higher trait body dissatisfaction resulting from more frequent and/or prolonged episodes. The current research aimed to develop a measure of these two dimensions (i.e., the Body Dissatisfaction Frequency Duration Questionnaire; BDFDQ) and test this theoretical model by investigating whether body dissatisfaction frequency and duration 1) were structurally dissociable, 2) meaningfully dissociable, and 3) each associated with different aspects of disordered eating behavior. Study 1 (N = 300, 42% women) developed the BDFDQ and showed that frequency and duration are structurally dissociable. Study 2 (N = 400, 50% women) showed that the two-factor model was invariant across gender and both subscales showed good psychometric properties of reliability and validity. Results further supported that frequency and duration are meaningfully dissociable by revealing that each component accounted for unique variance in trait body dissatisfaction. Study 3 (N = 279, 77% women) replicated Study 2 findings and established that frequency and duration subscales each associated with different aspects of disordered eating behavior. Together, findings imply that body dissatisfaction frequency and duration represent two separable dimensions underlying trait body dissatisfaction., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest, (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Current DSM and ICD classifications of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) exclude emotional dysregulation (ED) in their diagnostic criteria, despite ED symptoms frequently co-occurring in ADHD and likely sharing common neurobiological substrates. In this study, we examined whether consideration of ED symptoms could delineate more informative "ADHD+ED" subphenotypes., Method: 4106 children with ADHD were recruited. ED and inattentive (IA) and hyperactive/impulsive (HI) symptoms were profiled using latent class analyses (LCA). The derived latent class (LC) subphenotypes were evaluated and validated in relation to comorbidity patterns, executive functions, and functional impairments., Results: Five LC subphenotypes with ED symptoms were identified: IA/HI + ED profile (LC1); HI + ED profile (LC2); IA + ED profile (LC3); IA/HI profile (LC4); and IA profile (LC5). Cross-validation of the LCA model using support vector machine analysis confirmed 83% accuracy. ED positive (ED+ve) subphenotypes were associated with higher rates of oppositional defiant disorder, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, as well as more severe autistic traits and sluggish cognitive tempo symptoms. Higher rates of ecological executive functioning impairments (BRIEF ratings) were found among ED+ve subphenotypes (though no differences were detected by laboratory-based measures). Functional impairments were also more severe among participants with ED+ve subphenotypes., Limitations: The data for our LCA were cross-sectional and based primarily on parent ratings., Conclusion: Our classification model has parcellated IA, HI, and ED symptoms into novel informative subphenotypes. These classifications provide preliminary evidence that ED symptoms could serve as sentinel features to identify a potential "ADHD-complex" syndrome, which demarcates a more pervasive condition of greater severity, complexity, and impairment., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Alexithymia is a multidimensional personality trait comprised of difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and externally orientated thinking. The assessment of alexithymia in people with acquired brain injury (ABI) is of clinical interest because alexithymia is linked to poor psychosocial functioning and community reintegration after ABI. To date, alexithymia measures have not been psychometrically investigated/validated in an ABI sample, restricting confident empirical work in this area. We aimed to fill this gap by assessing the psychometric properties of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) in adults with ABI and determining whether the alexithymia construct manifests similarly in ABI samples compared to the general community., Methods: The PAQ and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 were administered to an ABI sample (N = 350) and a community sample (N = 1012). Factor structure, measurement invariance, internal consistency reliability, and concurrent/discriminant validity were explored., Results: Our confirmatory factor analysis of the PAQ supported the intended five-factor correlated model as the best solution, where items loaded well onto the five intended subscales. This factor structure was invariant across ABI and community samples. Good reliability and concurrent and discriminant validity were also established., Limitations: The PAQ is a self-report measure and may be impacted by insight deficits known to occur after ABI., Conclusion: Our data suggests that the PAQ has good validity and reliability as a measure of alexithymia. The latent structure of alexithymia manifests similarly in ABI and community samples. This study provides the first psychometric foundation for confident assessment of alexithymia in ABI., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Caregivers play a central role in promoting emotion regulation throughout infancy, childhood, and adolescence. However, there are no existing psychometric measures to assess how parents assist children in employing emotion regulation strategies for negative emotions. We therefore developed the Parental Assistance with Child Emotion Regulation (PACER) Questionnaire to assess the degree to which parents assist their children in their use of ten different regulation strategies. In this paper, we describe the development of the PACER and examine its psychometric properties (N = 407 parents of children ages birth to 17 years). In so doing, we also use the PACER to comprehensively explore the links between parent-assisted emotion regulation and indices of parent and child stress, symptomatology, and attachment. Confirmatory factor analyses of the PACER items supported its intended ten-factor structure (corresponding to ten specific regulation strategies), which was invariant across different child age and sex categories. PACER scale scores had excellent internal consistency and generally acceptable test-retest reliability over a one-week period. Convergent validity was established via correlations between PACER scales and indices of parental emotion sensitivity, expressivity, and regulation, as well as parents' perception of the efficacy of their assistance with children's execution of emotion regulatory strategies. Lower parental facilitation of stereotypically adaptive emotion regulatory strategies was associated with higher child internalizing and externalizing problems and with poorer parent-child relationship quality. Overall, these findings suggest that the PACER may be a useful tool for the assessment of parental assistance with child emotion regulation across development., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Ever since alexithymia was defined in the 1970s, robust associations have been observed between alexithymia and a variety of symptoms of psychopathology. Alexithymia is now widely regarded as an important transdiagnostic risk factor, and it is frequently assessed in clinical and research settings. However, despite this strong interest, it remains unclear exactly why (i.e., by which mechanisms) alexithymia is linked to psychopathology. In this paper, we hypothesise that alexithymia is linked to affective disorder symptoms because alexithymia impairs people's ability to regulate their emotions, and we empirically test this hypothesis., Method: We administered a battery of psychometric measures to 501 adults in the United States, and examined the direct and indirect effects between alexithymia (Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire), emotion regulation ability (Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory), and affective disorder symptoms (Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21)., Results: In the Pearson bivariate correlation matrix, alexithymia, emotion regulation difficulties, and affective disorder symptoms were all significantly correlated. In the modelling of direct and indirect effects, alexithymia was indirectly associated with affective disorder symptoms through emotion regulation difficulties (no significant direct effect)., Limitations: Our online survey data were all self-report data and cross-sectional. Future longitudinal work would be beneficial., Conclusions: Our findings support contemporary theorising that alexithymia is linked to affective disorder symptoms via emotion regulation difficulties. These results help to clarify the mechanisms by which alexithymia may predispose people to affective disorder symptoms, and highlight the importance of considering the roles of alexithymia and emotion regulation in case conceptualisations and treatment planning., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

People regulate both negative and positive emotions, and their ability to do this successfully is a cornerstone of adaptive psychological functioning. However, few measures have been available to assess emotion regulation ability across both valence domains. The Perth Emotion Regulation Competency Inventory (PERCI) was recently developed for this purpose. Here we present the first psychometric study of the PERCI in the United States (N = 508). Confirmatory factor analyses supported the intended eight-factor structure, which was invariant across age, gender, and education. PERCI scores had high internal consistency, and were associated with measures of psychopathology, emotional reactivity, and emotion regulation strategies in expected ways. These observed relationships between the PERCI and various regulation strategies may serve to establish a profile of what strategy patterns characterize differences in emotion regulation ability. Overall, the PERCI had strong psychometrics. Its capacity to assess both valence domains should enable more comprehensive assessments of emotion regulation ability., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Alexithymia is a trait composed of difficulties identifying feelings (DIF), difficulties describing feelings (DDF), and externally orientated thinking (EOT). It is an important transdiagnostic risk factor for psychosomatic disorders and other types of emotion-based psychopathologies, and can reduce the efficacy of some treatment approaches. Alexithymia assessments are therefore important in psychiatric and research settings. The Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (PAQ) was recently developed to enable more comprehensive alexithymia assessments, however, its psychometric properties need further examination and it is so far only available in English. In this study, we sought to address this by translating the PAQ into Spanish and testing its psychometric properties in an adult sample from Chile ( N = 370). Confirmatory factor analyses found the PAQ to have a theoretically congruent factor structure, supporting the contemporary status of alexithymia as a multifaceted construct and the PAQ's capacity to assess the DIF, DDF, and EOT facets of alexithymia across negative and positive emotions. All subscale and composite scores had high internal consistency reliability, and demonstrated good concurrent and discriminant validity. The PAQ therefore appears to provide a robust and detailed alexithymia profile. This Spanish version should help to enable more comprehensive cross-cultural research into alexithymia and its role in and psychological disorders., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Becerra, Baeza, Fernandez and Preece.)

Background: Difficulties in emotion regulation are a key risk factor for affective disorders. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) is a 10-item measure of two emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. It is widely used tool in the United States, however, most psychometric studies of the ERQ have so far been conducted with college students and some researchers have recently questioned its factorial validity in non-student samples. In this study, we conducted the first confirmatory factor analysis study of the ERQ in a United States general community sample., Method: We examined the ERQ's factor structure, measurement invariance across age, education and gender categories, internal consistency reliability, and concurrent validity with a sample of 508 adults., Results: The intended two-factor model (cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression) was an excellent fit to the data, and this structure was invariant across different age, education, and gender categories. Both ERQ scale scores had good omega and alpha reliabilities, and correlated as expected with depression and anxiety symptoms. Cognitive reappraisal was negatively correlated with these symptoms, whereas expressive suppression was positively correlated with these symptoms., Limitations: We did not include a clinical sample and future psychometric studies of the ERQ in specialised clinical populations would be useful., Conclusions: The ERQ appears to have strong psychometric properties when used with general community members from the United States. ERQ scores can be confidently used and compared across adults of different ages, genders, and educational backgrounds., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Alexithymia is a trait involving difficulties processing emotions. Existing data suggest it is associated with violent offending. In violent offender programmes, therefore, violent offenders are screened for alexithymia and it is attended to if necessary. No studies have, however, examined alexithymia levels in nonviolent offenders and it is, therefore, unknown whether it is also a criminogenic factor in this population., Aims: To investigate alexithymia levels among incarcerated nonviolent offenders and compare them with a community comparison group., Method: The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale was used to compare the alexithymia levels of 67 incarcerated nonviolent offenders with a group of 139 people from the general public living in the community., Results: Alexithymia levels did not differ between the groups., Conclusion: It appears that alexithymia is not a criminogenic factor for nonviolent offenders and screening of such offenders appears unnecessary., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Alexithymia is a trait involving difficulty identifying feelings (DIF), difficulty describing feelings (DDF) and externally orientated thinking (EOT). It is a risk factor for criminal behaviour. It is commonly assessed with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), but the psychometrics of the TAS-20 have not been tested across the range of offender populations, and it has been suggested it might be unsuitable in incarcerated offenders., Aim: To establish the psychometrics of the TAS-20 among incarcerated offenders., Methods: Factorial validity was examined using confirmatory factor analyses, and the invariance of this factor structure was tested against a published community sample. Reliability coefficients were calculated., Results: One hundred and forty six incarcerated offenders were recruited. The factor structure of the TAS-20 was invariant across the samples. The intended factor structure composed of DIF, DDF and EOT factors performed well overall (with a reverse-scored method factor added), but six EOT items had low factor loadings. The total scale score and DIF and DDF subscales had acceptable reliability, but EOT did not., Conclusions: Our results suggest that the TAS-20 functions similarly in offender and community samples. Its total scale score, and DIF and DDF subscale scores can be used confidently, but the assessment of externally oriented thinking may not be adequate with this scale alone. In sum, the TAS-20 can facilitate robust assessment of alexithymia in closed criminal justice settings as well as in the wider community., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objective: There is ongoing uncertainty about the structure and definition of alexithymia. Conceptually, alexithymia has traditionally been defined as a multidimensional trait with four components: difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, externally orientated thinking, and difficulty fantasizing. However, some authors suggest that difficulty fantasizing might not be a component, and others suggest low emotional reactivity is a fifth component. In this study, we sought to clarify this issue using factor analysis., Method: In a sample of adults (N = 508), we administered a comprehensive battery of psychometric measures and analyzed their latent structure using exploratory factor analysis., Results: Subscales assessing difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and externally orientated thinking all loaded well together on the alexithymia factor. However, none of the subscales assessing aspects of difficulty fantasizing (i.e., daydreaming frequency, vividness, content, or use of daydreams to regulate emotions) loaded on the alexithymia factor. Similarly, no emotional reactivity subscales loaded on the alexithymia factor, and alexithymia was associated with higher (not lower) levels of emotional reactivity for negative emotions., Conclusions: Difficulty fantasizing and low emotional reactivity are not components of the latent alexithymia construct. The traditional four-component definition of alexithymia likely warrants refinement to a more parsimonious three-component solution., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) is a 10-item self-report measure of 2 emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. It is a widely used measure of emotion regulation, but its factor structure has rarely been examined outside of university student samples, and some authors have recently questioned its factorial validity in general community samples. In this study, we examine the psychometric properties of the ERQ (original English version) in 3 Australian general community samples ( N  = 300, 400, 348). Confirmatory factor analyses in each sample demonstrated that the traditional 2-factor model (comprised of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression factors) was replicable and an excellent fit to the data. In all samples, ERQ cognitive reappraisal ( α = .89-.90) and expressive suppression ( α = .76-.80) scores had acceptable to excellent levels of internal consistency reliability. As expected, cognitive reappraisal scores were significantly negatively correlated with psychological distress and alexithymia, whereas expressive suppression scores were significantly positively correlated with psychological distress and alexithymia. We conclude that, similar to previous findings in student samples, the ERQ has strong psychometric properties in general community samples and can therefore be used confidently regardless of participants' student status.