Validity of the Emotion Regulation of Self Scale among Runners

Abstract

The Emotion Regulation of Other and Self scale (EROS: Niven, Totterdell, Stride, & Holman, 2011) was originally designed to assess strategies used to increase both pleasant and unpleasant emotions in a range of situations and over a 4 week period. The aim of the present study was to cross-validate the scale in a specific situation and over a shorter timeframe, specifically in sport competition. Participants (N = 700) completed the EROS scale whilst recalling strategies within an hour of competing in a running race of personal importance. Confirmatory factor analysis results indicate some support for the integrity of a two-factor model. Factor loadings indicated limitations with items designed to assess behavioral strategies to increase pleasant emotions and also unpleasant emotions. After removing these weak-loading items and reanalyzing data, results indicated acceptable fit indices. We suggest the scale has some utility in running but recommend that future research should develop domain- specific items.