Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Confirming the Factor Structure and Validity of the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) in Youth

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Child Psychiatry & Human Development Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Distress tolerance (DT) is an individual’s ability to handle uncomfortable emotion states or sensations (Simons and Gaher in Motiv Emot 29(2): 83–102, 2005). DT is associated with heightened risk for psychopathology, including internalizing symptoms. However, little research has examined the feasibility of assessing DT via youth self-report. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the psychometric properties of the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) (Simons and Gaher in Motiv Emot 29(2): 83–102, 2005) in community (n = 117; ages 10–19; 56.4% female) and clinical samples (n = 165; ages 10–18, 52.7% female) of youth. Predictors of DT and its association with internalizing symptoms were investigated. The majority of fit indices confirmed a four-factor hierarchical structure for the clinical sample data. Females reported lower DT than males and DT was associated with internalizing symptoms. Validation of the factor structure of the DTS allows for investigation of child and adolescent-reported perceptions of DT as a risk factor for psychopathology in youth.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Mchugh RK et al (2011) Shared variance among self-report and behavioral measures of distress intolerance. Cogn Ther Res 35(3):266–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Zvolensky MJ et al (2010) Distress tolerance: theory, measurement, and relations to psychopathology. Curr Direct Psychol Sci 19(6):406–410

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Timpano KR et al (2009) Exploration of anxiety sensitivity and distress tolerance as vulnerability factors for hoarding behaviors. Depress Anxiety 26(4):343–353

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Simons JS, Gaher RM (2005) The distress tolerance scale: development and validation of a self-report measure. Motiv Emot 29(2):83–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Daughters SB et al (2013) The role of gender and race in the relation between adolescent distress tolerance and externalizing and internalizing psychopathology. J Adolesc 36(6):1053–1065

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Cummings JR et al (2013) Time doesn’t change everything: the longitudinal course of distress tolerance and its relationship with externalizing and internalizing symptoms during early adolescence. J Abnorm Child Psychol 41(5):735–748

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Ameral V et al (2014) What are measures of distress tolerance really capturing? A mixed methods analysis. Psychol Conscious: Theory, Res Pract 1(4):357

    Google Scholar 

  8. Leyro TM et al (2011) Distress tolerance scale: a confirmatory factor analysis among daily cigarette smokers. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 33(1):47–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Sandín B et al (2017) Psychometric properties of the spanish version of the distress tolerance scale and its relationship with personality and psychopathological symptoms. Psicothema 29(3):421–428

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Wagener A, Blairy S (2015) Version Française De La distress tolerance scale et de la discomfort intolerance scale. Can J Behav Sci 47(3):241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Rogers TA et al (2018) Factor structure and incremental utility of the distress tolerance scale: a bifactor analysis. Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191118789496

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Allan NP et al (2015) relations between common and specific factors of anxiety sensitivity and distress tolerance and fear, distress, and alcohol and substance use disorders. J Anxiety Disord 33:81–89

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. You J, Leung F (2012) A Chinese adaptation of the distress tolerance scale among adolescents: factor structure and psychometric properties. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 34(1):136–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Daughters SB et al (2009) Distress tolerance and early adolescent externalizing and internalizing symptoms: the moderating role of gender and ethnicity. Behav Res Ther 47(3):198–205

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Anestis MD et al (2007) The multifaceted role of distress tolerance in dysregulated eating behaviors. Int J Eat Disord 40(8):718–726

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Bernstein A, Marshall EC, Zvolensky MJ (2011) Multi-method evaluation of distress tolerance measures and construct (s): concurrent relations to mood and anxiety psychopathology and quality of life. J Exp Psychopathol 2(3):386–399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Bernstein A et al (2009) Integrating anxiety sensitivity, distress tolerance, and discomfort intolerance: a hierarchical model of affect sensitivity and tolerance. Behav Ther 40(3):291–301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Anestis MD, Joiner TE (2012) Behaviorally-indexed distress tolerance and suicidality. J Psychiatr Res 46(6):703–707

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Macatee RJ, Cougle JR (2015) Development and evaluation of a computerized intervention for low distress tolerance and its effect on performance on a neutralization task. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 48:33–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Dennhardt AA, Murphy JG (2011), Associations between depression, distress tolerance, delay discounting, and alcohol-related problems in European American and African American College Students. Psychol Addict Behav 25(4):595–604

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Gorka SM, Ali B, Daughters SB (2012) The role of distress tolerance in the relationship between depressive symptoms and problematic alcohol use. Psychol Addict Behav 26(3):621–626

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Ellis AJ, Vanderlind WM, Beevers CG (2013) Enhanced anger reactivity and reduced distress tolerance in major depressive disorder. Cogn Ther Res 37(3):498–509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Mchugh RK et al (2013) An examination of the association of distress intolerance and emotion regulation with avoidance. Cogn Ther Res 37(2):363–367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Williams AD, Thompson J, Andrews G (2013) The impact of psychological distress tolerance in the treatment of depression. Behav Res Ther 51(8):469–475

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Bardeen JR et al (2015) Attentional control as a moderator of the relationship between difficulties accessing effective emotion regulation strategies and distress tolerance. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 37(1):79–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Bardeen JR, Fergus TA, Orcutt HK (2013) Testing a hierarchical model of distress tolerance. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 35(4):495–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Birmaher B et al (1999) Psychometric properties of the screen for child anxiety related emotional disorders (scared): a replication study. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 38(10):1230–1236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Angold A et al (1995) Development of a short questionnaire for use in epidemiological studies of depression in children and adolescents. Int J Methods Psychiatric Res 5:237–249

    Google Scholar 

  29. Angold A et al (1987a) The development of a questionnaire for use in epidemiological studies of depression in children and adolescents

  30. Silverman WK, Albano AM (1996) Anxiety disorders interview schedule For Dsm-Iv, Child & parent versions. Physiological Corporation, San Antonio

    Google Scholar 

  31. Silverman WK, Albano AM (1996) Anxiety disorders interview schedule for Dsm-5: child version. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  32. Ibm SPSS (2015) Ibm Spss statistics version 23. International Business Machines Corp., Boston

    Google Scholar 

  33. Muthén L, Muthén B (2007) Statistical analysis with latent variables using Mplus. Muthén & Muthén, Los Angeles

    Google Scholar 

  34. Hu LT, Bentler PM (1999) Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Struct Equ Modeling Multidiscipl J 6(1):1–55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Linehan MM (1993) Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. Guilford Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  36. Bornovalova MA et al (2012) Initial rct of a distress tolerance treatment for individuals with substance use disorders. Drug Alcohol Depend 122:70–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Kenny DA, Mccoach DB (2003) Effect of the number of variables on measures of fit in structural equation modeling. Struct Equ Model 10(3):333–351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Cochran SD, Mays VM (2000) Relation between psychiatric syndromes and behaviorally defined sexual orientation in a sample of the us population. Am J Epidemiol 151(5):516–523

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Miami, 5665 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Flipse Building, Room 345, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA

    Niza A. Tonarely

  2. University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    Niza A. Tonarely & Jill Ehrenreich-May

Authors
  1. Niza A. Tonarely
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jill Ehrenreich-May
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Niza A. Tonarely.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent and assent were obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tonarely, N.A., Ehrenreich-May, J. Confirming the Factor Structure and Validity of the Distress Tolerance Scale (DTS) in Youth. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 51, 514–526 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-019-00935-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-019-00935-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation