Difficulties in Emotion Regulation and Problematic Pornography Use: The Mediating Role of Loneliness.

Objectives: To analyze the association between difficulties in emotion regulation and problematic pornography use (PPU) and test the mediating effect of loneliness. Methods: All 339 participants (M = 28.53 years, SD = 10.32) completed online self-report scales assessing difficulties in emotion regulation, PPU, and loneliness. Results: Difficulties in emotion regulation are positively correlated with PPU. Loneliness partially mediates the relationship between difficulties in emotion regulation and PPU. Gender and intimate relationship status had moderating effects on the tested mediation model. Conclusions: Greater difficulties in emotion regulation have a significant indirect effect on PPU through loneliness.

The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form (DERS-SF): psychometric properties and invariance between genders.

BACKGROUND: The understanding of how individuals manage their emotional experiences has flourished dramatically over the last decades, including assessing of emotion (dys)regulation. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) is a well-validated and extensively used self-report instrument for emotion regulation problems. Despite the wide use of DERS in both clinical and research settings, its length potentially increases fatigue and frustration in respondents and limits its inclusion in brief research protocols. Consequently, a short-form version of the DERS (DERS-SF) was developed, which requires cross-cultural adaptations and the study of its reliability and validity. OBJECTIVES: In order to address this issue, this study aimed to analyze the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of DERS-SF and examine the DERS-SF factor structure invariance between men and women. METHODS: The sample comprised 646 participants aged between 18 and 66 years (M = 29.93, SD = 11.71). RESULTS: The correlated six-factor structure of the original version has an acceptable fit, good reliability, and convergent validity. Our results also suggested the invariance of the factor structure of the DERS-SF across genders. CONCLUSION: The DERS-SF has good psychometric properties, and it may be useful for future research and clinical work to use this six-factor brief version and improve emotion regulation assessment.

Predictors of Pornography Use: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation and Loneliness.

BACKGROUND: Pleasure-seeking reasons are the main drivers of pornography use (PU), but the regulation of unpleasant states, namely distraction from or suppression of negative emotions and stress relief, are other potential predictors of this behavior. AIM: Our main objective is to develop an explanatory model of problematic PU, assessing difficulties in emotion regulation, loneliness, perceived stress, as well as age and gender as predictors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted that included a total of 340 participants (M = 28.50 years, SD = 10.32). Self-report inventories were administered that measured problematic PU (PPCS), difficulties in emotion regulation (DERS-SF), loneliness (UCLALS-3), and perceived stress (PSS-10). RESULTS: The findings were indicative of recreational PU, with only a small number of participants (4.6%) reporting a possible problematic PU. There were statistically significant gender differences (F(1,337) = 33.306, P ≤ .001), namely that men were more likely to report problematic PU (M = 36.03, SD = 21.30) than women (M = 25.32, SD = 9.24). Problematic PU was significantly and positively correlated either with difficulties in emotion regulation, loneliness, perceived stress and age. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed that difficulties in emotion regulation (ß = 0.259, P ≤ .001), loneliness (ß = 0.209, P = .001), and gender (ß = -0.377, P ≤ .001) define the best subset of predictors of problematic PU. Age and perceived stress were not selected as predictors in this subset. CLINICAL TRANSLATION: The promotion of better emotion regulation abilities and strategies for adaptive coping with loneliness must be taken into consideration, namely in cases of problematic PU or compulsive sexual behavior disorder. STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS: Being a cross-sectional study with a convenience sample and the fact that these variables explain only a part of the explained variance of the problematic PU are the main limitations. Despite the limitations, the principal contribution of this study is the understanding that gender, difficulties in emotion regulation, and loneliness remain as main predictors of problematic PU, even when combined in the explanatory model. CONCLUSION: The current study provides a better understanding of the predictors of problematic PU related with the reduction or avoidance of unpleasant states. Emotion regulation, loneliness, and perceived stress, studied simultaneously, provide a better understanding of the complex relationships between these factors and problematic PU. Difficulties in emotion regulation and loneliness are predictors of higher problematic PU, as well as the expected gender effect. Cardoso J, Ramos C, Brito J, et al. Predictors of Pornography Use: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation and Loneliness. J Sex Med 2022;19:620-628.

The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale - Short Form (DERS-SF): psychometric properties and invariance between genders

Background: The understanding of how individuals manage their emotional experiences has flourished dramatically over the last decades, including assessing of emotion (dys) regulation. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) is a well-validated and extensively used self-report instrument for emotion regulation problems. Despite the wide use of DERS in both clinical and research settings, its length potentially increases fatigue and frustration in respondents and limits its inclusion in brief research protocols. Consequently, a short-form version of the DERS (DERSSF) was developed, which requires cross-cultural adaptations and the study of its reliability and validity. Objectives: In order to address this issue, this study aimed to analyze the factorial structure and psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of DERS-SF and examine the DERS-SF factor structure invariance between men and women. Methods: The sample comprised 646 participants aged between 18 and 66 years (M = 29.93, SD = 11.71). Results: The correlated six-factor structure of the original version has an acceptable fit, good reliability, and convergent validity. Our results also suggested the invariance of the factor structure of the DERS-SF across genders. Conclusion: The DERS-SF has good psychometric properties, and it may be useful for future research and clinical work to use this six-factor brief version and improve emotion regulation assessment.