2.2. Measures
2.2.1. Emotion regulation
The previously defined emotion regulation strategies, suppression and reappraisal
(Gross, 1998), were measured by means of the Dutch translation of the
Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) as developed by Gross and John (2003).
The questionnaire contains 10 items (statements), of which six assess the reappraisal
strategy and four the suppression question: I keep my emotions to myself; an
example of a reappraisal question: When I want to feel more positive emotion,
I change the way I'm thinking about the situation). Subjects were asked to indicate
on a 7-point scale to what extent the statements apply to them and higher scores
reflect the use of a particular strategy more. The ERQ has been shown to be a reliable
and valid measure of emotion regulation; Gross and John (2003) reported a
Cronbach's α coefficient for reappraisal=0.79, suppression=0.73 and test–retest
reliability across 3 months=0.69