Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of the ERS-ACA Scale Among Chinese College Students

Chinese university students face academic, employment, and interpersonal pressures that may increase their vulnerability to anxiety and depression. Artistic creative activities (ACAs) provide contexts in which individuals may regulate emotions, but the strategies used during these activities require appropriate measurement. A previous Chinese adaptation of the Emotion Regulation Strategies for Artistic Creative Activities (ERS-ACA) Scale was validated among art and design majors and omitted one item. The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the original 18-item Chinese ERS-ACA in 885 university students from multiple academic disciplines. Participants completed the ERS-ACA, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), and the Student Well-Being Process Questionnaire (Student-WPQ). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original three-factor structure. Internal consistency was satisfactory for the total score (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.903) and the three subscales (alpha = 0.796–0.814). The three ERS-ACA dimensions were positively associated with cognitive reappraisal, positive well-being, and positive personality, whereas their associations with expressive suppression were small or non-significant. These findings support the structural validity, criterion-related validity, and internal consistency of the 18-item Chinese ERS-ACA in the present university student sample. Further validation in other populations is warranted.