Dimensional assessment of the Spanish Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Positive (DERS-P): Psychometric properties and associations with substance use and risk of emotional disorders.
Abstract
Objective
Most research has primarily focused on negative emotions and has only recently begun to empirically assess the role of difficulties experiencing positive emotions. This study aimed, for the first time, to examine evidence of validity for the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Positive (DERS-P) in Spanish adolescents and young adults and to assess its relationship with measures of substance use and mental health disorder risk.
Method
The sample comprised 6,365 community-based participants who completed an e-assessment including sociodemographic measures, the DERS-P, the Brief Symptom Inventory-18, self-reported measures of substance use, and validated measures of substance use disorder risk. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine the internal structure of the questionnaire, with complementary measurement invariance assessments across sex and past-year substance use. Convergent validity in relation to substance use and emotional disorder risk was assessed.
Results
The DERS-P comprised three factors (impulse, acceptance, and goals) and showed excellent internal consistency (ω = 0.91; ωImpulse = 0.90, ωAcceptance = 0.86, ωGoals = 0.91). Scalar invariance was established across sex and past-year substance use groups. The optimal cutoff score for detecting emotional dysregulation among males was 16.5, whereas for females it was 17.5. The DERS-P showed evidence of concurrent validity in relation to emotional disorder and substance use disorders risk.
Conclusions
The DERS-P shows excellent reliability and validity evidence in relation to clinical measures of substance use and mental health risk. Findings suggested young populations exhibit marked difficulties in emotional acceptance, although further research is needed to clarify their implications for transdiagnostic interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).