Hsu, T., Thomas, E.B.K., Welch, E.K., O'Hara, M.W., & McCabe, J.E. (2023). Examining the structure of distress tolerance: Are behavioral and self-report indicators assessing the same construct? Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 27, 143-151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2023.02.001
Distress tolerance, or the ability to tolerate physically and emotionally aversive experiences, is a target of psychological intervention in contextual behavioral science. It has been conceptualized as a self-reported ability, as well as a behavioral tendency, and operationalized with a wide variety of questionnaires and behavioral tasks. The current study aimed to investigate whether behavioral tasks and self-report assessments of distress tolerance measure the same underlying dimension, two correlated dimensions, or whether method factors accounted for covariation above and beyond a general content dimension. A university student sample (N = 288) completed behavioral tasks associated with distress tolerance and self-report distress tolerance measures. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that behavioral and self-report assessments of distress tolerance do not comprise a single dimension of distress tolerance, or two correlated dimensions of self-report or behavioral distress tolerance. Results also failed to support a bifactor conceptualization with a general distress tolerance dimension and domain-specific method dimensions for behavioral and self-report assessments. Findings suggest that more precision and attention to contextual factors are required in the operationalization and conceptualization of distress tolerance.
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