Personal Emotional Health: A Method for Measuring Difficulties in Emotional Self-Reflection

Abstract

This article introduces a new instrument aimed at addressing various synthetically integrated process formations and their effects that underlie the challenges of personal reflection on emotions as an intrapersonal predictor of emotional health development. The research objective was to develop and validate a diagnostic methodology for assessing difficulties in personal emotional reflection (DPER). Methods. The study involved 1688 participants (62.26% female, 37.74% male) aged 15 to 60 years. The development of DPER methodology statements was based on an author's model of research tools, presented by three components that encompass seven parameters (scales). Unformed abilities to understand and express one's emotions (difficulties in recognising one's own feelings, difficulties in expressing emotions); susceptibility to emotional stress (inability to endure (tolerate) emotions; tendency to use physiologically oriented defenses); psychological mechanisms hindering effective emotional reflection (prohibitions on emotions; suppression of emotions; avoidance of emotions). Convergent validity of the methodology was tested using: The Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (Gross, 2003), the Diagnostic Methodology for the Value and Self-efficacy of Emotional Control (Mauss, 2010), the Emotional Intelligence Test (Lyusin, 2006), and The Brief Five-factor Personality Questionnaire (Gosling, Rentfrow & Swann, 2003). Statistical data analysis included the calculation of Cronbach's alpha coefficient, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin criterion, Bartlett's sphericity coefficient, Pearson's criterion; exploratory factor analysis was conducted. Results. A sufficient level of reliability of the correlation matrix characterising the questionnaire's structure and internal consistency of its scales was determined. The grouping of scales into factors corresponds to the proposed model of the research tool: a three-component structure (66.85% explained variance) encompassing seven parameters (scales) (62.15% explained variance). Convergent validity of six questionnaire scales was confirmed. Discussion. The DPER methodology is an independent, reliable, and valid instrument, allowing for the measurement of the degree of difficulties in personal emotional reflection over a relatively short period and making a probabilistic forecast for the development of emotional health conditions.