Measures of emotion reactivity and emotion regulation: Convergent and discriminant validity

• Self-report emotion regulation, reactivity measures do not show convergent validity.
• Regulation, reactivity measures do not show discriminant validity.
• Exploratory factor analysis shows three factors.
• Factors reflect uncontrolled emotion, awareness/expression, cognitive strategies.

Emotion reactivity and emotion regulation are salient constructs in theories of emotion and emotion disorders; however, little is known about the convergent and discriminant validity of instruments used to measure them. The current paper examines the validity of four emotion-regulation and three emotion-reactivity instruments (with a total of 27 subscales) across three independent samples of university students (total N = 715). Eight subscales from a coping instrument were also examined. Confirmatory factor analysis failed to show the expected patterns of convergent and discriminant validity; however, exploratory factor analysis revealed three different factors, reflecting out-of-control negative emotion, emotion awareness and expression, and cognitive strategies for emotion regulation. Results have implications for both basic emotions research and clinical science.