DRONE: A Five-factor Assessment of Emotional Processing based on Gross’s EPM

Description

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20081570

Tanvi Kothiwale¹ and Moksha Shah² (Consultant Psychometrician and Psychologist, Caliber Compass, Pune, Maharashtra¹ and Consultant Psychologist across Multiple Mental Health Companies, Pune, Maharashtra²)

Our emotions and feelings are hidden behind the behaviors we indulge in every day. Through client sessions and conversations with people across the years, we identified a series of unhealthy emotional regulation patterns that were prevalent in most people going through something in their lives. In our theory, “emotional regulation falls under five domains- Distraction, being Reserved, Overthinking, Negative Thinking and Escapism (DRONE)”, which comes as a branch of the Extended Process Model (Gross, 2015). The development of this model and test has the following objectives: 1) mediating between the client and therapist to have an initial identification as to where the individual stands without labeling the person, 2) a self-awareness tool, and 3) It helps the therapist and client identify which area needs immediate attention. 4) The impact of the therapy session can also be analyzed by doing a pre and post-test with the clients taking therapy. A 24-item test was devised with respect to the domains. The Sample for the study included EFA (N-155, Mean- 90.5) and CFA (N-258, Mean- 73.5). The DRONE model was developed through a rigorous process of theorization, generation of items for the test, content validity, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis to ensure a 5-factor model. CFA confirmed the proposed structure, demonstrating good model fit (CFI =0.922, TLI = 0.911, RMSEA =0.0528, SRMR = 0.0638). Factor loadings were substantial and significant at 0.01 level. The DRONE can be used as an initial screening and further as an intervention in diverse settings. It can also be used as a self-assessment to understand one’s own emotion regulation techniques.