The Distress Tolerance Scale

The Distress Tolerance Scale (Simons & Gaher, 2005) is a 15-item self-report measure of emotional distress tolerance. The measure is scored on a 5-point Likert scale (1=strongly agree, 5=strongly disagree). There are four subscales of distress tolerance; (1) tolerability and aversiveness, (2) appraisal and acceptability, (3) tendency to absorb attention and disrupt functioning, and (4) regulation of emotions, specifically, the consequent strength of action tendencies to either avoid or immediately attenuate the experience.

Related Article

Simons, J. S., & Gaher, R. M. (2005). The distress tolerance scale: Development and validation of a self-report measure. Motivation and Emotion, 29(2), 83-102. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-005-7955-3

Downloads

• Distress Tolerance Scale: Word Document
• Distress Tolerance Scale: Redcap Data Dictionary (.csv)

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