The context- and emotion-specific assessment of emotion regulation in adolescents (CESAER-A): Validation in a sample of early to late adolescents

Introduction. - Emotion regulation is thought to develop significantly during adolescence. However, there is no appropriate measure to cover the whole period, from early to late adolescents. Objective. - This study reports the validation of the CESAER-A, a measure of emotion regulation that specifically targets early to late adolescents in a context-specific (social interaction at school) and emotion-specific (anger, sadness, fear) approach. Method. - The CESEAR-A was administered to a sample of 1,527 adolescents (51% girls) aged between 11 and 19 (M = 13.97, SD = 2.19). Results. - Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a three-factor model provided the best fit to the data, whatever the emotion considered. It consisted of inhibition, adaptive regulation and dysregulation. Measurement invariance was also established across gender and age groups (early, middle and late adolescents). Conclusion. - The CESEAR-A appears to be a relevant measure for transversal and longitudinal studies of emotion regulation over the full range of adolescence. We discuss its practical implications and make suggestions for future research on emotion regulation based on a context- and emotion-specific approach. (c) 2023 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.