Anna McKinnon1, Willem Kuyken2, Rachel Hayes2, Aliza Werner-Seidler3, Peter Watson4, Tim Dalgleish5, Susanne Schweizer6. 1. Centre for Emotional Health, Macquarie University, North Ryde, Australia. Electronic address: tim.dalgleish@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk. 2. Mood Disorders Research Centre, Sir Henry Wellcome Building for Mood Disorders Research, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom. 3. Black Dog Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. 4. Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge United Kingdom. 5. Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge United Kingdom; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, United Kingdom; University of Cambridge, Department of Psychology, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Electronic address: tim.dalgleish@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk. 6. University of Cambridge, Department of Psychology, Cambridge, United Kingdom; School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Affective dysregulation is central to depression. However, emotion regulation (ER) tendencies in depression remain poorly understood. It is critical, therefore, to validate measures of habitual ER in clinical populations. The current study aimed to validate the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) in a sample of individuals with a history of recurrent depression who are currently in remission. METHOD: The CERQ measures ER tendencies with 36 self-report items that are divided into nine subscales. Each subscale is purported to assess one of five adaptive and four maladaptive ER strategies. The CERQ was administered to 476 adults (mean age = 46.76 years; 75% female) that were currently in remission with a history of recurrent depression, who were recruited from primary care settings. We first investigated the CERQ's nine factor structure, internal consistency, convergent and criterion validity. RESULTS: The nine-factor structure did not fit the CERQ structure in a sample of individuals with recurrent depression and convergent validity was poor. Instead, a five-factor structure fit the data best and showed acceptable convergent and criterion validity. LIMITATIONS: The generalisability of the findings may be limited due to relative lack of diversity in terms of gender and ethnicity of the sample. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the taxonomic structure of the CERQ does not fit emotion regulation patterns in adults with a history of depression. These findings highlight the importance of validating measures in clinical samples.
BACKGROUND: Affective dysregulation is central to depression. However, emotion regulation (ER) tendencies in depression remain poorly understood. It is critical, therefore, to validate measures of habitual ER in clinical populations. The current study aimed to validate the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) in a sample of individuals with a history of recurrent depression who are currently in remission. METHOD: The CERQ measures ER tendencies with 36 self-report items that are divided into nine subscales. Each subscale is purported to assess one of five adaptive and four maladaptive ER strategies. The CERQ was administered to 476 adults (mean age = 46.76 years; 75% female) that were currently in remission with a history of recurrent depression, who were recruited from primary care settings. We first investigated the CERQ's nine factor structure, internal consistency, convergent and criterion validity. RESULTS: The nine-factor structure did not fit the CERQ structure in a sample of individuals with recurrent depression and convergent validity was poor. Instead, a five-factor structure fit the data best and showed acceptable convergent and criterion validity. LIMITATIONS: The generalisability of the findings may be limited due to relative lack of diversity in terms of gender and ethnicity of the sample. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the taxonomic structure of the CERQ does not fit emotion regulation patterns in adults with a history of depression. These findings highlight the importance of validating measures in clinical samples.
Authors: Elena Betegón; Jairo Rodríguez-Medina; Macarena Del-Valle; María Jesús Irurtia Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-03-18 Impact factor: 3.390