Escala de Tolerancia al Distrés: Propiedades Psicométricas en Estudiantes Universitarios Argentinos

Abstract

La habilidad percibida para tolerar los estados emocionales negativos es un constructo de gran interés para un gran espectro de psicopatologías. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar las propiedades psicométricas de la Escala de Tolerancia al Distrés en población argentina. La escala fue aplicada a una muestra de 180 estudiantes de la Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (82.8% mujeres, 17.2% varones; M[edad]: 26.8). El análisis factorial exploratorio reveló una estructura de dos factores que explicó el 47% de la varianza. El primer factor fue identificado como Tolerancia General al Distrés (sensibilidad al distrés); el segundo factor fue identificado como Regulación (esfuerzos conductuales para aliviar el distrés). Se encontraron asociaciones con medidas teóricamente relacionadas como afectividad, tolerancia a la incertidumbre y síntomas de depresión y ansiedad. Los hallazgos replican resultados reportados por otros investigadores y representan una contribución al estudio de la tolerancia al distrés y su evaluación en nuestro contexto.

Distress tolerance is defined as the ability to withstand the distress associated with aversive, negative or unpleasant emotional states. This ability to tolerate negative emotional states is a construct of outstanding interest for a broad spectrum of psychopathologies and maladaptive behaviors. One of the most frequently used measures to assess this ability is the Distress Tolerance Scale. However, there are still no studies about distress tolerance in Argentina, nor research on how the scale works in this population. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Distress Tolerance Scale in Argentinian population. The scale was applied to a sample of 180 university students from the Mar del Plata’s National University (82.8% women and 17.2% men). The age range was from 18 to 57 years (ME: 26.8 years; SD: 7.76). Exploratory factor analysis revealed a two-factor structure that explained 47% of the variance. First factor was identified as General Distress Tolerance (sensitivity to distress); second factor was identified as Regulation (behavioral efforts to alleviate distress). General Distress Tolerance factor would represent the degree to which a person is (un)willing to keep in touch with a negative emotional experience. Regulatory factor would constitute a measure of the individual’s behavioral reactivity against to those situations. Cronbach Alpha suggested good internal consistency for the General Distress Tolerance factor (α = .87), the Regulation factor (α = .73) and the total 15-items scale (.86). Associations were also found between the General Distress Tolerance and theoretically related variables such as positive and negative affectivity, tolerance of uncertainty and anxiety and depression symptoms. Regulation factor did not show any association with the aforementioned variables. The results are similar to others reported in previous research and represent a contribution to the study of distress tolerance and its assessment in our context