What it measures
The DERS-SF measures difficulties with emotion regulation: noticing and understanding feelings, accepting them, and staying in control when upset. It covers six areas: not accepting emotions, difficulty focusing on tasks when upset, impulse control, lack of emotional awareness, limited strategies for calming down, and lack of emotional clarity. Respondents rate how often each statement applies to them.
Who it’s for
It was validated with both adolescents and adults, so it suits secondary pupils as well as staff and students. Schools and services use it to understand where young people struggle with emotions, to plan targeted support such as emotional literacy or DBT-informed groups, and to measure change. It identifies areas of difficulty and is not a diagnosis.
SAMPLE QUESTION
When I'm upset, I find it hard to focus on other things.
Almost never · Sometimes · About half · Most of the time · Almost always
Paraphrased example for illustration. See the published paper for the original items and scoring.
How it’s scored
Each statement is rated from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always). The awareness items are worded positively and are reverse scored, so higher scores always mean more difficulty. Item scores are added for each of the six subscales and for a total of 18 to 90. There are no official cut-offs: compare scores across subscales to see where support is most needed, and track change over time.
Validation and source
The short form was published by Kaufman and colleagues in 2016, based on the original 36-item Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale by Gratz and Roemer (2004). It was tested in three adolescent samples and two adult samples, keeping all six subscales with half the items, and its scores correlated very strongly with the full version (around .90 to .98). Later studies in several countries report good reliability for the total score. Some find the awareness subscale behaves differently from the rest, so check guidance on whether to include it in the total.
WHERE YOUHQ FITS
Validated scales measure. youHQ helps you act on what they show.
The DERS-SF shows where a young person finds emotions hardest to manage. Day to day, that shows up as good days and hard days. youHQ gives pupils a quick daily check-in on how they're feeling, helping them name emotions and helping staff spot patterns early. Use the DERS-SF to understand the underlying difficulties, and youHQ to support emotional awareness every day.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the DERS and the DERS-SF?
The original DERS has 36 items. The short form keeps the same six areas with 18 items, so it is quicker to complete, and its scores closely match the full version.
Can the DERS-SF be used with teenagers?
Yes. It was validated with adolescent samples as well as adults, so it is suitable for secondary-age pupils.
What is a high DERS-SF score?
There are no official cut-offs. Higher scores mean more difficulty with emotion regulation. Look at the subscale scores to see which areas need most support.