The Disgust Propensity and Sensitivity Scale–Revised: An examination of a reduced-item version

The Disgust Propensity and Sensitivity Scale–Revised (DPSS–R [Pers. Indiv. Differ. 41 (2006) 1241–1252]) is a new assessment tool thought to assess two distinguishable factors contributing to disgust reactions, Disgust Propensity and Disgust Sensitivity. Extant data though indicate the presence of four unreliable DPSS–R items. The present study examined the psychometric properties of a reduced-item version of the DPSS–R, in which these four problematic items were removed, using data from two large independent samples of nonclinical college students. Results from Study 1 revealed that the reduced-item DPSS–R factor structure provided more favorable goodness-of-fit indices than the two previous full-length DPSS–R factor structures. In Study 2, the reduced-item DPSS–R scales showed good reliability, stronger relationships with symptoms of disgust-relevant than fear-relevant phobias, and adequate incremental concurrent validity in predicting symptoms of disgust-relevant phobias. The present study suggests that the reduced-item DPSS–R is both reliable and valid, and likely addresses the limitations of the full-length version.