Assessment of activation, intensity and duration of positive and negative emotions: psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Perth Emotional Reactivity Scale – Short Form

Abstract

Background. The Perth Emotional Reactivity Scale – Short Form (PERS-S) is an 18-item self-report questionnaire that assesses emotional reactivity. The PERS-S measures activation, intensity, and duration of negative and positive emotions. The study aims to validate the Polish version of the PERS-S. Participants and procedure. The study was performed on a sample of 675 people aged 18-80 (M = 28.88, SD = 13.17, 56.15% female). The factor structure and measurement invariance across gender, age and educational categories were verified with confirmatory factor analysis. Convergent and divergent validity were assessed based on the relationship between the PERS-S scale and the Emotional Reactivity scale taken from the Formal Characteristics of Behaviour–Temperament Inventory, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale and the Subjective Vitality Scale. Results. The intended 6-factor model was an excellent fit for the data (CFI = .963; TLI = .953; RMSEA = .053, 90% CI [.046; .061]; SRMR = .057) and was invariant across gender, educational level and age groups. All PERS-S subscales correlated with another emotional reactivity questionnaire, stress, emotion regulation strategies, well-being and vitality as expected. The reliability was high for all subscales (α > .70); it was slightly lower only for the positiveactivation subscale (α = .68). Due to gender differences in emotional reactivity traits, group norms (sten scale) were calculated separately for females and males. Conclusions. The Polish version of the PERS-S has strong psychometric properties. Its practical applications are discussed.