Living Through Distress Programme Outcome Measures

• Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale

  The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz and Roemer, 2004) assesses emotion dysregulation. It comprises six domains: non-acceptance of emotions, inability to engage in goal directed behaviours when distressed, impulse control, emotional awareness, emotion regulation strategies, and emotional clarity. The measure consists of 36 items scored on a 5-point scale from 1 “almost never” to 5 “almost always”. Total scale scores range from 36 to 180 with higher scores indicating greater difficulties regulating emotion. Gratz and Roemer (2004) reported good internal reliability (α = .93), construct and predictive validity, and test-retest reliability in an article which described the development of this scale.

• Distress Tolerance Scale

  The Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS; Simons & Gaher, 2005) is a 15-item measure of levels of distress and readiness to tolerate distress. The DTS comprises of 4 subscales assessing tolerance, absorption, appraisal and regulation. Respondents are asked to rate each statement on a 5-point scale from 1 “Strongly Agree” to 5 “Strongly Disagree”. Higher total scores on the DTS scale indicate greater distress tolerance.

• Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised

  The Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (CAMS-R; Feldman et al. 2007) was administered for the first time in 2015 to replace the Five-facet mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer et al., 2006). Mindfulness as measured by the CAMS-R is unique in two ways, firstly, it is understood as the willingness and ability to be mindful rather than as a mindfulness experience and secondly, it is particularly related to psychological distress (Bergomi et al., 2012). The new measure was deemed more accessible to users as it captures their mindfulness experience in a shorter measure and additionally it is particularly relevant for use in clinical studies (Bergomi et al., 2012).