The relationship between distress tolerance and symptoms of depression: Validation of the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) and short-form (DTS-SF)

Abstract

Objective: Distress tolerance (DT) has been found to be implicated in the development and maintenance of depressive symptomatology and various other significant psychological conditions. As such, it is critical to have measures of DT that are effective and easy to administer. This study aimed to examine the factor structure, psychometric properties, and clinical utility of the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) and the short-form version, the Distress Tolerance Scale Short-form (DTS-SF), in a large population of individuals with varying levels of self-reported depressive symptoms. Method: A total of 959 participants completed an online battery of questionnaires which included an assessment of depressive symptoms as well as the DTS and related measures. Results: Confirmatory factor analyses validated the four-factor structure of the DTS and the one-factor structure of the DTS-SF. Good construct validity and good internal consistency were observed across both the DTS and DTS-SF. Conclusion: Overall, this paper provides new evidence for the validity, reliability and discriminative ability of the DTS and the brief version of the questionnaire, the DTS-SF.