Séverine Lannoy1, Alexandre Heeren1, Lucien Rochat2, Mandy Rossignol1, Martial Van der Linden3, Joël Billieux4. 1. Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Science Research Institute, Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium. 2. Cognitive Psychopathology and Neuropsychology Unit, Psychology Department, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 3. Cognitive Psychopathology and Neuropsychology Unit, Psychology Department, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Cognitive Psychopathology Unit, Psychology Department, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium; Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. 4. Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Science Research Institute, Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium. Electronic address: Joel.Billieux@uclouvain.be.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Emotion reactivity is defined as the extent to which an individual experiences emotions in response to a wide array of stimuli, intensely, and for a prolonged period. This construct is a key psychological factor in the development and maintenance of psychopathological disorders. The aim of the current study was to develop and validate a French version of the Emotion Reactivity Scale (ERS), which gauges three aspects of emotion reactivity: (1) emotional sensitivity, (2) emotional intensity, and (3) emotional persistence. METHOD: The French ERS and both concurrent and divergent validated scales were administered to 258 participants from the community. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses revealed good fit indices for: (1) a single-factor model, (2) a three-factor model, and (3) a hierarchical three-factor solution with a single-factor solution as a second-order latent variable for a generic construct of emotion reactivity. The French version of the Emotion Reactivity Scale also exhibits acceptable internal scale score reliability (total scale and subscales). Eventually, meaningful relationships were found between factors of emotion reactivity and depression, distinct aspects of impulsive behaviors, and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. CONCLUSION: Findings of the confirmatory factor analyses are consistent with previous studies suggesting that the ERS is mainly captured by a single major construct of emotion reactivity.
BACKGROUND: Emotion reactivity is defined as the extent to which an individual experiences emotions in response to a wide array of stimuli, intensely, and for a prolonged period. This construct is a key psychological factor in the development and maintenance of psychopathological disorders. The aim of the current study was to develop and validate a French version of the Emotion Reactivity Scale (ERS), which gauges three aspects of emotion reactivity: (1) emotional sensitivity, (2) emotional intensity, and (3) emotional persistence. METHOD: The French ERS and both concurrent and divergent validated scales were administered to 258 participants from the community. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses revealed good fit indices for: (1) a single-factor model, (2) a three-factor model, and (3) a hierarchical three-factor solution with a single-factor solution as a second-order latent variable for a generic construct of emotion reactivity. The French version of the Emotion Reactivity Scale also exhibits acceptable internal scale score reliability (total scale and subscales). Eventually, meaningful relationships were found between factors of emotion reactivity and depression, distinct aspects of impulsive behaviors, and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. CONCLUSION: Findings of the confirmatory factor analyses are consistent with previous studies suggesting that the ERS is mainly captured by a single major construct of emotion reactivity.