The assessment of emotion reactivity: the Italian validation of the
Perth Emotional Reactivity Scale – Short Form (PERS-S)
Abstract
Emotion reactivity refers to the activation, intensity, and duration of
emotional responses to internal or external stimuli. It can be
differentiated from emotion regulation since the former is the very
first response to an emotional trigger, and the latter can be defined as
a tool for maintaining one’s own arousal in a window of tolerance.
Since, to date, there are no Italian self-report measures able to
evaluate individuals’ emotional reactivity, this study aimed to
contribute to the Italian validation of the short form of the PERS
(PERS-S). The PERS-S is an 18-item self-report measure answered on a
5-point Likert scale that generates six subscale scores and two
composite scores, with higher scores indicating higher levels of
reactivity. Data from 768 individuals showed that the PERS-S had good to
excellent goodness-of-fit. The internal consistency was high, with an
overall reliability coefficient (Cronbach’s α) of .87 and .86 for the
negative and positive general scales, respectively. The PERS-S also
demonstrated appropriate convergent validity, showing significant
correlations with conceptually related measures, and acceptable
divergent validity, showing minimal correlations with unrelated
constructs. Finally, we evaluated the Test-Retest Reliability by
administering the PERS-S to the same sample twice, with a 2-week
interval. The significant correlations between the two PERS-S
administrations suggest temporal stability. The Italian version of the
PERS-S will enrich the repertoire of self-report measures for
investigating the development and risk factors of mental health
disorders and may have practical applications in clinical settings.