Development of a Reappraisal Flexibility Scale and Examination of Its Reliability and Validity

Reappraisal is widely recognized as an adaptive emotion regulation strategy; however, recent research suggests that it comprises several substrategies, whose effectiveness can vary across different stress-related contexts. These findings suggest that the ability to use reappraisal flexibly in response to stressful situations may play a crucial role in promoting psychosocial adjustment. This study aimed to develop a reappraisal flexibility scale. Based on previous research on emotion regulation models, the present study developed a scale for measuring four aspects of reappraisal flexibility scale (RFS), namely, context sensitivity, repertoire, monitoring, and modification. Two online surveys were conducted, each collecting data from 300 adults. For each set of data, confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the assumed four-factor structure. The reliability obtained for each subscale was satisfactory. Relationships with existing scales demonstrated that the associations were generally as expected, thus indicating the validity of the proposed scale. This scale accurately elucidates the criticality of reappraisal flexibility in psychosocial adjustment.