Published Paper Details:

Emotion regulation is a complex process by which individuals identify, monitor, evaluate, and modify their emotional experiences and expressions in the pursuit of personal goals and adaptation to different situational demands. However, most standardized measures of emotion regulation have been developed and validated primarily within Western, individualistic contexts. Because emotional suppression functions adaptively to maintain group harmony and relational stability within collectivistic cultures like that of India, the generalization of such measures might be limited. Therefore, the present study sought to develop and validate the Emotional Regulation Scale (ERS-14), a culturally contextualized instrument for early and young adults in India. A sample of 68 Indian participants (47 females, 21 males; age range 18-40 years, M = 22.57, SD = 5.89) completed an initial pool of 24 items representing three conceptual domains: Emotional Control and Regulation (ECR), Emotional Expression and Communication (EEC), and Emotional Awareness (EA). Exploratory Factor Analysis employing Principal Axis Factoring with Varimax rotation identified a three-factor structure accounting for 52.9% of total variance. The finalized 14-item ERS-14 revealed acceptable internal consistency coefficients (ECR: ? = .74; EEC: ? = .73; Overall: ? = .65; EA: ? = .56). Results indicate that the ERS-14 is a psychometrically sound and culturally relevant tool to assess emotion regulation among early and young Indian adults, thus serving as a starting point for further refinement and validation in larger, more heterogeneous populations.