Emotion Regulation in Adolescents: Evidence of the Validity and Factor Structure of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ)

Abstract

The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) is an assessment tool to evaluate cognitive emotion regulation strategies. The main objective of this study is to provide new empirical evidence about the validity and reliability of the CERQ via a sample of 271 Spanish adolescents (136 female, 135 male) aged from 15 to 18 years (M = 15.7, SD = 0.76). The analytical process was carried out in two phases. A confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the polychoric correlation matrix between items. Four possible alternative models were contrasted: two models with nine factors and two models with two second-order factors and nine first-order factors, with 36 and 27 items, respectively. The model with nine correlated factors and 27 items obtained the best indices of overall fit. Subsequently, the reliability of the measurements was estimated on this model. The results reaffirm the validity of the 27-item version of the CERQ over the original 36-item structure. The findings also confirm that the CERQ is a reliable instrument for the evaluation of emotion regulation strategies in adolescents.

A Negative Body Image among Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Survivors: Results from the Population-Based SURVAYA Study

“…The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) was part of the questionnaire and used to identify which cognitive coping strategies AYA survivors use when experiencing negative events or situations [ 32 , 33 , 34 ]. The identified coping styles were dichotomized into two general categories: adaptive (acceptance, positive refocusing, refocus on planning, positive reappraisal, putting into perspective) and maladaptive (self-blame, rumination, catastrophizing, and blaming others) [ 32 , 34 ]. A higher score (0–50 for adaptive and 0–40 for maladaptive) indicates an AYA survivor is using the coping style more frequently in response to a negative event [ 32 ].…”

The effectiveness of an online video-based group schema therapy in improvement of the cognitive emotion regulation strategies in women who have undergone bariatric surgery

“…Responses to the items are measured on a five-point Likert scale with a range from 1 [(almost) never] to 5 [(almost) always]; a higher subscale score indicates greater use of a specific cognitive strategy. The CERQ has shown excellent reliability and validity [ 12 , 41 ]. The Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of adaptive and maladaptive and total scores of CERQ was found to be 0.91, 0.87, and 0.93, respectively.…”

Psychometric Properties of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and Shortened Versions in Dutch Speaking Community-Dwelling Older Adults

“…Some studies (Domínguez-Sánchez et al, 2013;Jermann et al, 2006;Xu et al, 2021) proposed a model with second order adaptive and maladaptive strategies, yet most studies corroborated the nine-factor structures of the original CERQ with 36 items (Chamizo-Nieto et al, 2020;Garnefski et al, 2001;Megreya et al, 2016;Zhu et al, 2008). In the case of the 27 item version, only the two-factor structure has shown an optimal fit (Betegón et al, 2022;Carvajal et al, 2021;Holgado-Tello et al, 2018).…”

“…Although most studies focused on the original 36 item version, overall results support acceptable to adequate internal consistency on all scales in all versions (Chamizo-Nieto et al, 2020;Domínguez-Sánchez et al, 2013;Garnefski & Kraaij, 2006a;Jermann et al, 2006;Medrano et al, 2013;Megreya et al, 2016;Perţe & Miclea, 2011;Tuna & Bozo, 2012;Wang et al, 2021;Xu et al, 2021;Zhu et al, 2008). However, in terms of structure, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) studies present mixed results with some studies favouring the original nine-factor structure (Betegón et al, 2022;Chamizo-Nieto et al, 2020;Megreya et al, 2016;Santos et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2021;Zhu et al, 2008), while others suggesting a second-order structure where the nine dimensions are grouped into two more general factors, referred to as adaptive strategies and less adaptive strategies (Domínguez-Sánchez et al, 2013;Jermann et al, 2006;Xu et al, 2021). Also, some of the studies point to certain items with lower factor loadings than recommended (Holgado-Tello et al, 2018;Medrano et al, 2013;Tuna & Bozo, 2012;Wang et al, 2021), indicating the need for further evidence on the structure of the instrument.…”

“…Also, some of the studies point to certain items with lower factor loadings than recommended (Holgado-Tello et al, 2018;Medrano et al, 2013;Tuna & Bozo, 2012;Wang et al, 2021), indicating the need for further evidence on the structure of the instrument. Of all these studies, only three compare different versions of the CERQ on the same sample of adults (Betegón et al, 2022;Holgado-Tello et al, 2018;Ireland et al, 2017), indicating better fit on shortened versions compared to the original one. Only the study of Carvajal et al (2021) specifically analysed the CERQ structure in older adults, finding unsatisfactory standardized factor loadings on the original structure and only an adequate fit for the 27 item Spanish version.…”