There are currently two international collaborations in which the emotional processing scale is being studied, at the Faculty of Psychology, Bologna University, Italy (Professor Paola Gremigni) and at the Department of Psychology & Research Centre for Human Security, Doshisha University (Masao Yogo, Associate Professor of Social Psychology) and Department of Psychology, Nagoya University (Hideki Ohira, Associate Professor), Japan (see below).

These researchers are translating the EPS and conducting psychometric studies on it. We will then be able to compare psychometric data across the three samples – English, Italian and Japanese, which could help us to better understand the dimensions of emotional processing.

Translation of the Emotional Processing Scale (EPS)

We welcome collaborations with other nations on the emotional processing research. If you wish to translate the emotional processing scale (EPS) into your language for research purposes, we will try to provide help and guidance. Having comparable validated versions of the Emotional processing Scale in different languages is an important step towards researching the processing of emotions in different cultures. Please contact us - details below.

'Two great nations .. divided by a common language' Mark Twain

Hopefully there is no need to translate the EPS from British-English to American-English, Australian-English etc. although there may be the odd phrase or spelling that seems wrong outside of Britain. It would be necessary to check how well the EPS reads to English speakers outside of Britain and whether anything might be misconstrued.

We conducted readability analysis on the English version of the EPS to check its reading level. Using the readability check in Microsoft Word, we found the EPS questionnaire items had a Flesch-Kincaid score of 4.6, which is equivalent to a 4th or 5th grade reading level. The instruction section of the EPS was at the 7th or 8th grade level. As this is primarily a US readability score, it suggests the scale may be acceptably readable in the US.

After preliminary checks on the comprehensibility and readability of the EPS on the English-speaking nations, the interesting study would be to gather large samples from different groups (eg stratified by age and gender) to compare differences in emotional processing style.

ITALY

University of Bologna, Italy
Faculty of Psychology, Cesena
Research Project 2004-2005
Italian Validation of the Emotional Processing Scale – EPS
Co-ordinator: Paola Gremigni, PhD, Professor of Theory & Practice of Psychological Testing
Collaborator: Mariaelisa Santonastaso, Clinical Psychology student

Objective:

The EPS has been developed to assess emotional processing and its deficits. It has been designed for the general population as well as at patients with both physical and psychological disorders. It could be used in both research and clinical settings. This study is aimed at validating the Italian version of the Emotional Processing Scale (EPS), verifying its main psychometric properties, such as validity and reliability.

Methods

The EPS has been translated into Italian by two Italian psychologists independently and controlled using the back version process by a teacher of English. The validation study will involve at least 450 subjects, including healthy adults and students older than 18 years, patients with physical illness, such as cardiovascular disease, and patients with mental illness.

Construct validity of the EPS will be tested using item analysis and factorial analysis. Criterion validity will be tested as follows: discriminative analysis will be run using different samples of subjects, while concurrent validity will be verified using other questionnaires assessing similar and/or dissimilar constructs. Alexithymia, anger, anxiety, depression and social desirability will be assessed together with completion of the EPS. Reliability will be testing using internal consistency and test-retest after one month with a sub-group of subjects.

For further information, please contact the co-ordinator: email paola.gremigni@tin.it

Collaboration from Italian researchers to the validation process of the EPS is warmly encouraged.

Japan

Dr Masao Yogo, Associate Professor of Social Psychology at the Department of Psychology & Research Centre for Human Security, Doshisha University and Dr Hideki Ohira, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Nagoya University, and his students, have translated the Emotional Processing Scale into the Japanese language. They have started data collection in order to test the validity and reliability of the scale in a Japanese population.

UNITED KINGDOM

Colorectal cancer and emotional processing 2003

Dorset HealthCare NHS Trust, Poole Hospital NHS Trust, Royal Bournemouth & Christchurch Hospital NHS Trust, Southampton University.

This study was conducted by Dr Sharon Lothian, Clinical Psychologist, as part of her doctorate thesis in clinical psychology.

Collaboration with Dr Tamas Hickish, Professor Roger Baker, Sandra Horne, Professor Peter Thomas, Dr Sarah Thomas and Mr Matthew Owens. An article ‘Emotional processing deficits in cancer’ has been submitted to a health psychology journal.

The study explored the difficulties in emotional processing, emotional control and alexithymia in 124 men and women with non-metastistic colorectal cancer compared to 73 healthy control participants. The Emotional Processing Scale, Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Courtauld Emotional Control Scale were used.

Lothian, S., Hickish, T., Baker, R., Horne, S., Thomas, P.W., Thomas, S. & Owens, M. (submitted) Emotional processing deficits in cancer. Health Psychology Journal.

Lothian, S. (2002) Emotional processing deficits in colorectal cancer: a theoretical overview and empirical investigation. Thesis for the degress of Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Southampton.

The development and validation of an emotional processing scale 2000

Dorset Research & Development Support Unit, Poole Hospital NHS Trust, Dorset HealthCare NHS Trust, Bournemouth University

This study was led by Professor Baker in collaboration with Dr Sarah Thomas, Mr Matthew Owens, Ms Jane Holloway, Ms Lara Tosunlar and Professor Peter Thomas. It concerns the initial development of the Emotional Processing Scale through all the pilot stages. It has been tested for internal consistency, concurrent and construct validity and test-retest reliability. It has been validated against similar scales such as the Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale and the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Courtauld Emotional Control Scale. Measuring emotional processing

Baker, R. Thomas, S., Thomas, P., Owens, M. (2003) Development of a new emotional processing scale. Presented at the International Conference on the (Non) Expression of Emotions in Health & Disease. 19-21 October 2003, Tilburg University, Netherlands.

Baker, R., Thomas, P., Thomas, S., Holloway, J., Horn, S. & Lothian, S. (2002) Development of a new emotional processing scale (EPS) for use in physical and psychological health. Paper presented at the International Society for Research on Emotions Annual Conference, Spain.

Baker, R., Thomas, S., Thomas, P.W., & Owens, M. (2007). Development of an Emotional Processing Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 62, 167-178

Emotional processing and psychological disorders 2002

Dorset HealthCare NHS Trust, Poole Hospital NHS Trust

This study was conducted by Professor Roger Baker, Mr Matthew Owens and Ms Jane Holloway in collaboration with Dr Sarah Thomas, Professor Peter Thomas and Mr Tim Hollingbery.

The aim is:

1. To compare the emotional processing deficit profiles of patients with different psychiatric disorders to a normative sample.

To measure emotional processing pre and post cognitive therapy to assess any emotional processing change during the course of therapy.

2. To test the concurrent validity of the Emotional Processing Scale as an outcome measure against psychiatric symptom scales and other measures of emotion.

So far, we have compared the following diagnostic conditions: anxiety disorders, depression, personality disorder. We found patients had deficits in emotional processing compared to a normative sample. Post cognitive therapy there were improvements in emotional processing as indexed by the EPS & the TAS-20. There were also improvements in psychiatric symptoms as measured by the BSI. As expected change in the EPS correlated with TAS-20 and, to a lesser degree, BSI changed. It was concluded that the EPS is sensitive to change and provides a reliable and valid outcome measure of therapeutic efficacy in relation to emotional processing. We are gathering more data on patients with anorexia nervosa and post traumatic stress disorder. Psychological disorders

Baker, R., Whittlesea, A., Owens, M., Thomas, P.W., Gower, P., Tosunlar, L. and Thomas, S. (In preparation) How emotional is cognitive therapy? A new method for assessing emotional processing change during therapy. Behavioural and cognitive psychotherapy.

A preliminary comparative study of emotional processing in women with fibromyalgia syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and healthy subjects. 2003

West Dorset General Hospital NHS Trust, Southampton University, Dorset Research & Development Support Unit, Poole Hospital NHS Trust

This study was conducted by Jane Raleigh, Clinical Specialist in Occupational Therapy? at West Dorset General Hospital NHS Trust, as a research dissertation for the requirements of an MSC in Rehabilitation Sciences at Southampton University. Professor Roger Baker, Professor Peter Thomas, Dr Sarah Thomas and Mr Matthew Owens collaborated with her.

The aims of the study were:

1. To determine if fibromyalgia is associated with emotional processing difficulties.

2. To understand how emotional processing relates to anxiety, depression and pain in the different groups.

3. To determine concurrent validity of the Emotional Processing Scale in a fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis population.

52 patients with fibromyalgia, 34 with rheumatoid arthritis and 74 healthy invidivuals were compared on the Emotional Processing Scale, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale, Global Health Status, short form of the Brief Pain Inventory and scales of disability, fatigue and quality of life.

Fibroymyalgia

Raleigh, J. (2004) A preliminary comparative study of emotional processing in women with fybromyalgia syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and healthy subjects. MSC thesis, School of Health Professions & Rehabilitation Sciences, Southampton University.

Raleigh, J., Thomas, S., Baker, R. & Thomas, P.W. (in preparation) Emotional processing and fibromyalgia.

Emotional Processing & Chronic Pain 2003

West Dorset General Hospital NHS Trust, Dorset Research & Development Support Unit, Poole Hospital NHS Trust.

This study was conducted by Ms Sue Tilley, Head Physiotherapist, Chronic Pain Service, West Dorset Hospital NHS Trust with the Dorset Research & Development Support Unit.

The aim of the study was:

1. To evaluate the effectiveness of a holistic six week course at a chronic pain clinic on emotional processing, anxiety and depression.

2. To follow up patients six months after the course to determine if there has been a long term benefit in emotional processing and symptoms.

3. To compare chronic pain sufferers with healthy individuals and those with anxiety disorder.

So far, 22 patients who have attended the chronic pain programme have been evaluated but the evaluation and follow up is still continuing. Chronic Pain

Baker, R., Tilley, S. & Owens, M. (2003) Emotional processing and pain (unpublished document). Dorset Research & Development Support Unit, Poole Hospital NHS Trust.

Emotional Processing & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 2003

Poole Hospital NHS Trust, South & East Dorset Primary Care Trust, Dorset Research & Development Support Unit.

A number of studies have been conducted at the Chronic Fatigue Clinic, Wareham Hospital, Dorset by Ms Clare McDermott and Dr Selwyn Richards, Consultant Rheumatologist , and with patients too disabled to attend a clinic by Dr Margaret McDermott.

The aims of the study are:

1. To understand what chronic fatigue sufferers think about emotional processing in relation to their disorder.

2. To determine the emotional processing profile of chronic fatigue sufferers using the emotional processing scale.

3. To compare sufferers attending the chronic fatigue clinic to those too disabled to attend and healthy individuals on emotional processing scores.

So far, 39 patients attending the chronic fatigue clinic and 18 patients too disabled to attend have been assessed. Chronic Fatigue

Dorset RDSU
Cornelia House Poole Hospital NHS Trust Longfleet Road Poole Dorset BH15 2JB
Email dawn.stevens@poole.nhs.uk