Home1
Psychological tests2
Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-18)3

Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-18) Test

Understand where emotion regulation breaks down in just 4 minutes. Get clear, targeted insights to guide therapy goals and everyday coping strategies.

Start Online Test

Questions: 184 minutes

08:30

September 1, 2026

September 1, 2026
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

17,296 views

1,422 completions

914 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

8/15

Goals (G)

Measures how well a person can stay goal-focused and complete tasks when experiencing emotional distress.

Low difficulty

Moderate difficulty

High difficulty

3 – 6: Low difficulty | 7 – 10: Moderate difficulty | 11 – 15: High difficulty

A score of 8 suggests a moderate tendency for intense emotions to interfere with staying focused and following through on goals.

example score

8/15

Clarity (C)

Measures how clearly a person can identify, label, and make sense of their emotional experiences.

Clear awareness

Mixed clarity

Low clarity

3 – 7: Clear awareness | 8 – 11: Mixed clarity | 12 – 15: Low clarity

A score of 8 falls in the Mixed clarity range, suggesting occasional difficulty differentiating and understanding what you are feeling.

example score

11/15

Awareness (A)

Awareness measures how well a person notices and recognizes their own emotions, with higher scores reflecting more difficulty in emotional awareness.

Good awareness

Some difficulty

Marked difficulty

3 – 7: Good awareness | 8 – 11: Some difficulty | 12 – 15: Marked difficulty

A score of 11 suggests some difficulty noticing or recognizing emotions in the moment, which may make it harder to label feelings clearly as they arise.

example score

10/15

Strategies (S)

Assesses how available and effective your coping strategies are for managing negative emotions.

Effective strategies

Mixed strategies

Limited strategies

3 – 6: Effective strategies | 7 – 10: Mixed strategies | 11 – 15: Limited strategies

A score of 10 falls in the Mixed strategies range, suggesting you use some helpful coping methods but may find them inconsistent or not effective enough in harder moments.

example score

10/15

Nonacceptance (N)

Measures the degree to which a person judges, rejects, or struggles to accept their own emotional experiences.

More accepting

Some rejection

High rejection

3 – 6: More accepting | 7 – 11: Some rejection | 12 – 15: High rejection

A score of 10 falls in the 'Some rejection' range, suggesting a noticeable tendency to evaluate emotions negatively and have difficulty accepting them at times.

example score

10/15

Impulse Control Difficulties (ICD)

Measures difficulty controlling impulsive reactions when experiencing intense emotions.

Low difficulty

Moderate difficulty

High difficulty

3 – 6: Low difficulty | 7 – 11: Moderate difficulty | 12 – 15: High difficulty

A score of 10 indicates a moderate level of difficulty, suggesting impulsive actions may sometimes be hard to manage during strong emotional states.

example score

23/90

Difficulties in Emotion Regulation (DiER)

This scale measures overall difficulties with recognizing, accepting, and managing emotions in everyday life.

Low difficulties

Moderate difficulties

High difficulties

18 – 35: Low difficulties | 36 – 62: Moderate difficulties | 63 – 90: High difficulties

A score of 23 falls in the Low difficulties range, suggesting generally effective emotion regulation with relatively few reported problems.

Start Online Test

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

People in therapy

41%OF USERS

They use it to pinpoint specific emotion-regulation struggles to guide goals and track progress in counseling or psychotherapy.

High stress or burnout

34%OF USERS

They take it when overwhelmed, irritable, or emotionally exhausted to see where emotions start to feel unmanageable day to day.

Impulsivity and mood swings

25%OF USERS

They want clarity on whether strong emotions lead to impulsive actions, avoidance, or difficulty accepting feelings without judgment.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Goals (G)

Average

6.3

Normal range

4.6 — 8.1

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Clarity (C)

Average

6.8

Normal range

4.9 — 8.7

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Awareness (A)

Average

7.9

Normal range

6 — 9.8

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Strategies (S)

Average

10.6

Normal range

9 — 12.2

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Rejection (R)

Average

11.3

Normal range

9.8 — 12.7

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Impulsivity (I)

Average

6.6

Normal range

5.1 — 8.1

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DiERS)

Average

70.9

Normal range

59.7 — 82.1

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Start Online Test

Featured On

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

- Almost never
- Sometimes
- About half of the time
- Often
- Almost always
- Almost never
- Sometimes
- About half the time
- Often
- Almost always
- Almost never
- Sometimes
- About half the time
- Quite often
- Almost always

These are 3 of the 18 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

Start Online Test

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-18) Test - Symptoms and Signs

emotion regulation

Emotion regulation is a core psychological skill that varies across individuals and contexts. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-18) is a brief self-report measure designed to screen for common problems in identifying, accepting, and managing emotional experiences in daily life.

It consists of 18 items and typically requires about 4 minutes to complete. Items sample multiple facets of dysregulation (e.g., emotional awareness and clarity, nonacceptance, impulse control, and use of regulatory strategies), supporting a focused profile of areas that may warrant clinical attention or further assessment. The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-18) is commonly used in clinical and research settings as a time-efficient indicator of emotion regulation difficulties.

Literature: Victor, S. E., & Klonsky, E. D. Validation of a brief version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-18) in five samples. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. 2016.; Gratz, K. L., & Roemer, L. Multidimensional assessment of emotion regulation and dysregulation: Development, factor structure, and initial validation of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment. 2004.