Children’s Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (CRSQ)

Abstract

The Children’s Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (CRSQ) is a self-report psychological instrument developed to assess a child’s disposition toward Rejection Sensitivity (RS). This disposition is characterized by the tendency to defensively anticipate, readily perceive, and emotionally overreact—often with anxiety or anger—to cues of potential social rejection in interpersonal situations. The scale serves as a critical measure for identifying children whose defensive expectations undermine the stability and quality of their relationships.

Keywords

Rejection Sensitivity, CRSQ, Children’s assessment, Interpersonal difficulties, Social cognition, Developmental psychology, Psychological scale, Anxiety, Aggression.

Authors

Downey, G., Lebolt, A., Rincón, C., and Freitas, A. L.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the CRSQ is to quantify individual differences in how children perceive and respond to ambiguous or potentially rejecting social cues. By measuring both the anxious or angry expectation of rejection and the intensity of the affective response, the CRSQ captures the core cognitive-affective components of the rejection sensitive disposition.

The questionnaire contains two primary forms: a full 12-item instrument and a specific 6-item subset. The 6-item version has demonstrated utility in predicting observable indices of social adjustment, specifically correlating with teacher reports of the child’s overall interpersonal sensitivity and difficulties encountered in peer interactions.

Construct

The CRSQ measures Rejection Sensitivity, a key construct in social and developmental psychology. RS reflects a chronic, anxious expectation that one will be rejected, leading to hypervigilance for rejection cues and subsequent intense, often maladaptive, emotional and behavioral reactions when such cues are perceived.

In the context of the CRSQ, the construct is operationalized through hypothetical social vignettes relevant to school-aged children. For each scenario, the child rates two dimensions: the degree of expectation of rejection (e.g., “Do you think the kid will show up?”) and the intensity of affective distress (e.g., nervousness or anger) associated with that expectation.

Validity

Although specific psychometric data are detailed in the founding research, the validity of the CRSQ is supported by its predictive power regarding external outcomes. The scale, particularly the aggregated score from the core items, is validated by its significant correlation with objective measures, such as teacher reports of children experiencing interpersonal sensitivity and interpersonal difficulties in the classroom setting.

Reliability

Detailed reliability statistics, including internal consistency measures (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha) and test-retest reliability, are comprehensively documented in the seminal article outlining the development of the scale. Researchers seeking specific psychometric details should consult the primary reference by Downey, Lebolt, Rincón, and Freitas (1998).

Factor Analysis

The structure of the CRSQ supports the measurement of a unitary construct—Rejection Sensitivity—but allows for component analysis of the affective dimensions (anxiety and anger) and the expectation dimension. The validation research supports the use of both the full 12-item version for broad assessment and a specific 6-item aggregate score, demonstrating the stability of the underlying factor structure across these versions, particularly for predicting behavioral outcomes.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire using situational vignettes.

Format: 12 items (full version) or 6 items (short form). Each item requires the respondent to answer two questions on a 6-point Likert scale: the degree of anticipated emotion (Nervous/Mad) and the degree of expected rejection (Yes/No outcome).

Language Available: English (Original research language).

Population Group: School-aged children.

Age Group: Typically utilized with children in Grades 3 through 8.

Population Details: Used to assess children who exhibit defensive responses to social situations, contrasting those who react with anxiety or anger versus those who respond with equanimity.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked to imagine themselves in twelve specific social scenarios. The total Rejection Sensitivity score is calculated by multiplying the score of the anticipated outcome (expectation) by the score of the intensity of the affective response (anxiety or anger) for each item, and then averaging these products across all scored items.

Keywords

Rejection sensitivity for children, CRSQ scoring, Self-report measures, Affective disposition, Interpersonal sensitivity, Child psychology, Social emotional learning.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: [N/A – Information not provided in source content]

Affiliation Email addresses: [N/A – Information not provided in source content]

Correspondence Address: [N/A – Information not provided in source content]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Children’s Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (CRSQ) was initially published in 1998 in the journal Child Development. Researchers interested in utilizing the scale should contact the original authors, specifically Geraldine Downey, for information regarding permissions and fees. The scale is typically made available for non-commercial academic research upon request.

Reference’s

• Ayduk, O., Mendoza-Denton, R., Mischel, W., Downey, G., Peake, P. K., & Rodriguez, M. (2000). Regulating the interpersonal self: Strategic self-regulation for coping with rejection sensitivity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 776-792.
• Downey, G., Lebolt, A., Rincon, C, & Freitas, A. L. (1998). Rejection sensitivity and children’s interpersonal difficulties. Child Development, 69, 1072-1089. For details on psychometrics of scale, see article: Downey, G., Lebolt, A., Rincón, C., and Freitas, A. L. (1998). Rejection sensitivity and children’s interpersonal difficulties. Child Development, 69 (4), 1074-1091.

Items of the Children’s Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (CRSQ)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Do you think she will believe your side of the story?

YES!!! NO!!!

1 2 3 4 5 6

Do you think they will offer to help you?

YES!!!NO!!!

Do you think the kids in your class will choose you for their group?

YES!!!NO!!!

 

---

Children’s Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (CRSQ) – 6 items

 

Please imagine yourself in each of the following situations described here and tell us how you would feel in each.

1. Imagine you had a really bad fight the other day with a friend. Now you have a serious problem and you wish you had your friend to talk to. You decide to wait for your friend after class and talk with him/her. You wonder if your friend will want to talk to you.

How NERVOUS would you feel, RIGHT THEN, about whether or not your friend will want to talk to you and listen to your problem?

not nervous					very, very nervous
1	2	3	4	5	6

How MAD would you feel, RIGHT THEN, about whether or not your friend will want to talk to you and listen to your problem?

not mad very, very mad

1 2 3 4 5 6

Do you think he/she will want to talk to you and listen to your problem?

YES!!! NO!!!

1 2 3 4 5 6

2. Imagine that a famous person is coming to visit your school. Your teacher is going to pick five kids to meet this person. You wonder if she will choose you..

How NERVOUS would you feel, RIGHT THEN, about whether or not the teacher will choose you?

not nervous					very, very nervous
1	2	3	4	5	6

How MAD would you feel, RIGHT THEN, about whether or not the teacher will choose you?

not mad very, very mad

1 2 3 4 5 6

Do you think the teacher will choose YOU to meet the special guest?

YES!!! NO!!!

1 2 3 4 5 6

3. Now imagine that you’re back in class. Your teacher asks for a volunteer to help plan a party for your class. Lots of kids raise their hands so you wonder if the teacher will choose YOU.

How NERVOUS would you feel, RIGHT THEN, about whether or not the teacher will choose you?

not nervous					very, very nervous
1	2	3	4	5	6

How MAD would you feel, RIGHT THEN, about whether or not the teacher will choose you?

not mad very, very mad

1 2 3 4 5 6

Do you think the teacher will choose YOU?

YES!!! NO!!!

1 2 3 4 5 6

4. Imagine it’s Saturday and you’re carrying groceries home for your family. It is raining hard and you want to get home FAST. Suddenly, the paper bag you are carrying rips. All your food tumbles to the ground. You look up and see a couple of kids from your class walking quickly. You wonder if they will stop and help you.

How NERVOUS would you feel, RIGHT THEN, about whether or not those kids will want to stop and help you?

not nervous					very, very nervous
1	2	3	4	5	6

How MAD would you feel, RIGHT THEN, about whether or not those kids will want to stop and help you?

not mad very, very mad

1 2 3 4 5 6

Do you think they will offer to help you?

YES!!! NO!!!

1 2 3 4 5 6

5. Pretend you have moved and you are going to a different school. In this school, the teacher lets the kids in the class take home a video game to play with on the weekend. Every week so far, you have watched someone else take it home. You decide to ask the teacher if YOU can take home the video game this time. You wonder if she will let you have it.

How NERVOUS would you feel, RIGHT THEN, about whether or not the teacher will let you take the video game home this time?

not nervous					very, very nervous
1	2	3	4	5	6

How MAD would you feel, RIGHT THEN, about whether or not the teacher will let you take the video game home this time?

not mad very, very mad

1 2 3 4 5 6

Do you think the teacher is going to let you take home the video game this time?

YES!!! NO!!!

1 2 3 4 5 6

6. Imagine you’re back in your classroom, and everyone is splitting up into groups to work on a special project together. You sit there and watch lots of other kids getting picked. As you wait, you wonder if the kids will want you for their group.

How NERVOUS would you feel, RIGHT THEN, about whether or not they will choose you?

not nervous					very, very nervous
1	2	3	4	5	6

How MAD would you feel, RIGHT THEN, about whether or not they will choose you?

not mad very, very mad

1 2 3 4 5 6

Do you think the kids in your class will choose you for their group?

YES!!! NO!!!

1 2 3 4 5 6