Contextualized Emotion Regulation Survey for Adolescents (CERSA)

Abstract

The Contextualized Emotion Regulation Survey for Adolescents (CERSA), developed by Fombouchet, Lannegrand, and Lucenet in 2023, is a specialized 81-item self-report inventory designed to measure emotion regulation (ER) strategies and perceived abilities. The defining feature of the CERSA is its contextual approach, assessing regulatory processes specifically within three distinct and common emotion-eliciting situations: **sadness**, **fear**, and **anger**.

The instrument was constructed to capture both **intrinsic** (internal cognitive processes) and **extrinsic** (behavioral or social) mechanisms involved in monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotional reactions. Its conceptualization drew upon methodologies from existing contextualized measures, such as the Negative Emotion Regulation Inventory (NERI). Initial validation using a French sample of middle and high school students confirmed the scale’s robust seven-factor structure and demonstrated excellent reliability and validity across the studied contexts.

Keywords

Emotion Regulation Strategies, Abilities, Adolescents, **Distraction**, **Reappraisal**, **Rumination**, **Expressive Suppression**, Support Seeking, Controlling Experience, Dysregulation, Developmental Measures, Contextualized Assessment.

Authors

Fombouchet, Yoann; Lannegrand, Lyda; Lucenet, Joanna

Purpose

The primary purpose of the CERSA is to provide a nuanced, context-specific assessment of how adolescents utilize various **emotion regulation** (ER) strategies and perceive their own ER abilities. Unlike global measures of ER, the CERSA specifically examines these processes when encountering intense negative emotions.

This contextualized approach allows researchers and clinicians to differentiate regulatory responses across three distinct emotional states—**sadness**, **fear**, and **anger**—recognizing that regulation is not a monolithic process but varies depending on the specific emotional challenge and environmental demands.

Construct

The CERSA is designed to measure the construct of **Contextualized Emotion Regulation**, which posits that the selection and efficacy of regulatory strategies are dependent on the specific emotional context being experienced. The model assessed by CERSA includes seven key factors that represent distinct strategies and abilities used by adolescents to manage their emotions.

These measured processes include antecedent-focused strategies like **Reappraisal** and response-focused strategies such as **Expressive Suppression**, alongside potentially maladaptive responses like **Rumination** and **Dysregulation**. By situating these factors within specific emotional scenarios (sadness, fear, anger), the instrument provides a fine-grained understanding of developmental differences in emotional competence.

Validity

The **Construct Validity** of the CERSA was supported through its relationships with established measures of cognitive regulation. Specifically, CERSA strategies and abilities demonstrated expected associations with the strategies captured by the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ; Garnefski et al., 2001).

These findings confirm that the CERSA measures constructs theoretically linked to cognitive emotion processing, although the magnitude of the relationships varied across the three tested emotional situations (sadness, fear, and anger), highlighting the importance of the contextual component in the CERSA model.

Reliability

The CERSA demonstrated strong internal reliability across all seven subscales and emotional contexts, suggesting high consistency among the items designed to measure a single factor. The metric used was the omega (ω) coefficient, which generally indicates better reliability estimates than traditional Cronbach’s alpha.

Specific findings for the scale’s **Internal Consistency** were reported as good to excellent: for **sadness** situations, ω ranged from .827 to .916; for **fear** situations, ω ranged from .830 to .892; and for **anger** situations, ω ranged from .830 to .908. These values exceed conventional psychometric standards for reliability.

Factor Analysis

Psychometric evaluation involved conducting separate Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) for each of the three emotional contexts (sadness, fear, and anger) to verify the hypothesized seven-factor structure. Following the removal of a single item from the **Distraction** factor, the model exhibited a favorable fit across all three situations, confirming the distinct nature of the seven underlying strategies/abilities.

Detailed fit indices demonstrated robust model fit (e.g., CFI > .950, RMSEA < .05). Furthermore, **Measurement Invariance** analyses confirmed that the scale operates consistently across genders. Metric, scalar, and strict invariance models all met acceptable criteria, meaning that factor loadings, item intercepts, and residual variances were equivalent for male and female adolescents.

Specific fit indices:

• Sadness: χ²(303) = 764.865, p < .001, χ²/df = 2.524, CFI = .955, RMSEA = .047 [.042–.051], TLI = .950, and SRMR = .049.

• Fear: χ²(303) = 778.494, p < .001, χ²/df = 2.569, CFI = .952, RMSEA = .048 [.044–.052], TLI = .947, and SRMR = .049.

• Anger: χ²(303) = 684.902, p < .001, χ²/df = 2.260, CFI = .962, RMSEA = .044 [.040–.048], TLI = .957, and SRMR = .046.

Instrument

Test Type: **Original Inventory/Questionnaire**

Format: The CERSA is a paper-administered self-report instrument. For each of the three emotion-eliciting scenarios (sadness, fear, anger), respondents first indicate experience frequency (3-point Likert-type scale: never, once, multiple times) and intensity (7-point Likert scale, 1 ‘not at all’ to 7 ‘really intense’). Strategy items and ability items are then rated separately, both utilizing a 7-point Likert scale (1 ‘Not at all like that’ to 7 ‘Totally like that’ for strategies; 1 ‘Not like me at all’ to 7 ‘Totally like me’ for abilities).

Language Available: French

Population Group: Human (Male; Female)

Age Group: Primarily **Adolescence** (13-17 yrs), but validated on a range spanning Childhood (6-12 yrs) and Young Adulthood (18-29 yrs).

Population Details: The initial validation sample consisted of middle and high school students in France, aged 12 to 19 years.

Test Methodology: Test Validity, **Construct Validity**, Test Reliability, **Internal Consistency**, Factor Analysis, **Confirmatory Factor Analysis**, Measurement Invariance.

Keywords

Emotion Regulation, **Adolescents**, Context-Specific Assessment, **Distraction**, **Reappraisal**, **Rumination**, **Expressive Suppression**, Support Seeking, **Dysregulation**, Psychometrics.

Authors

Fombouchet, Yoann

• Author ORCID Identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3018-6331

• Affiliation: Univ. Bordeaux, UR 4139, LabPsy

• Email address: [email protected]

• Correspondence Address: University of Bordeaux, UR 4139, Laboratory of Psychology, 3ter place de la Victoire, Bordeaux, France, F-33076

Lannegrand, Lyda

• Author ORCID Identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6388-4806

• Affiliation: Univ. Bordeaux, UR 4139, LabPsy

Lucenet, Joanna

• Affiliation: Univ. Bordeaux, UR 4139, LabPsy

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

• Permissions: Contact Corresponding Author (Yoann Fombouchet) for usage rights.

• Fee: No

• Test Year: 2023

References

Fombouchet, Y., Lannegrand, L., & Lucenet, J. (2023). The Contextualized Emotion Regulation Survey for Adolescents (CERSA): How does **emotion regulation** vary according to context? **British Journal of Developmental Psychology**, 41(3), 306–323. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjdp.12450

Items of the Contextualized Emotion Regulation Survey for Adolescents (CERSA)

The Contextualized Emotion Regulation Survey for Adolescents (CERSA) consists of **81 items** designed to measure strategies and abilities across the three emotional contexts (sadness, fear, and anger).

Subscales:

• Distraction

• Reappraisal

• Expressive suppression

• Support seeking

• Rumination

• Controlling experience

• Dysregulation