DERS-16: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-16

What this assessment is

The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-16, or DERS-16, is a brief self-report measure of problems managing emotions.

It produces one total from 16 to 80. A higher score indicates more reported difficulty.

The DERS-16 is dimensional. It does not divide people into regulated and dysregulated groups, and it does not diagnose a mental health condition.

This page covers the 16-item form developed by Johan Bjureberg and colleagues. It is not the 18-item DERS-18 or the separate 18-item DERS-SF.

Those names are easy to confuse.

Who it was designed for

The original DERS-16 study evaluated the measure in one clinical sample of adult women and two community samples. The clinical group was receiving treatment for substantial emotion regulation problems and borderline personality disorder features.

Later studies have used it with other adults and adolescents. A comparison in treatment-seeking adults found that several brief DERS forms performed similarly to the full DERS, although the full form retained a small amount of additional information.

Do not assume that one sample's average defines what is normal for another population. Age, language, setting, and reason for assessment can all affect the result.

How it is administered

The DERS-16 is completed by the person being assessed. It asks how often statements about emotional difficulty generally apply.

Each response uses a five-point frequency scale. Standard scoring assigns values from 1 to 5, with every retained question pointing in the same direction after coding.

The form is brief and can usually be completed in a few minutes.

Score only the exact DERS-16. Do not select 16 convenient questions from the 36-item DERS or substitute questions from another short form.

What it measures

The DERS-16 covers five parts of emotion regulation difficulty:

• not accepting distressing emotions
• struggling to continue goal-directed activity when distressed
• losing control of behavior when distressed
• believing that effective regulation strategies are unavailable
• finding emotions unclear or hard to identify

It omits the emotional awareness domain from the original DERS-36. That omission is deliberate.

The measure focuses on difficulty, not emotional strength. A low result does not provide a complete account of resilience, coping skill, or emotional intelligence.

How scoring works

Add the 16 response values.

The total ranges from 16 to 80. Higher totals indicate more reported emotion regulation difficulty.

The original DERS-16 was developed and validated primarily as an overall score. Although the questions represent five content areas, the standard result should not be turned into improvised clinical subscale profiles.

All 16 valid responses are needed for a standard total. The development paper does not give a general rule for estimating missing answers.

Do not prorate without a validated protocol.

How to interpret a DERS-16 score

Interpret the result as a position on a continuum.

A higher score can support a conversation about situations in which emotions interfere with concentration, behavior, acceptance, or access to coping strategies. It does not establish how severe those problems are in clinical terms.

The development study did not publish universal low, moderate, high, or clinical bands. Cut points sometimes shown online are not part of the original scoring system.

For repeated assessment, compare like with like: use the same language, administration method, scoring rule, and setting. A change in the total may be useful, but the DERS-16 does not define a universal amount of change that is clinically important.

What the score cannot tell you

The DERS-16 cannot diagnose borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety, trauma-related conditions, or any other disorder.

It cannot explain why regulation is difficult. Sleep loss, acute stress, pain, substance use, neurodevelopmental differences, relationships, and the immediate setting may all affect how someone answers.

The score also cannot identify a treatment on its own.

A high total is not proof that a person lacks effort or self-control. A low total does not rule out serious distress, risk, or problems that the measure does not ask about.

Evidence and limitations

The original research found strong internal consistency, good short-term stability, and similar relationships with relevant clinical measures when compared with the DERS-36.

That supports the DERS-16 as a brief overall measure. It does not make it interchangeable with every other DERS form.

Independent work comparing the DERS-16, DERS-18, and DERS-SF found no clear evidence that one short form is best in every setting. The DERS-16 reduces burden but leaves out the awareness domain and provides less detail than the full form.

Self-report adds another limit. A person must notice, understand, and be willing to report their own emotional patterns.

Use the score as structured information. Keep the person's context beside it.