Preliminary psychometric properties of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the emotional outburst questionnaire.

This study focuses on the cross-cultural adaptation of the Emotional Outburst Questionnaire (EOQ) to Brazilian Portuguese and preliminarily assesses its predictive validity. The EOQ evaluates aspects of emotional outbursts (EO), including frequency, duration, intensity, types, associated behaviours, recovery time, triggers, and effectiveness of calming strategies. Two independent translators performed the translation, with subsequent synthesis and analysis revealing that only 33 items (24.81%) required revision. Among these, one item needed partial modification, and two needed total modification. The study demonstrated strong content validity and adaptation in terms of conceptual, idiomatic, and semantic aspects. The EOQ's predictive validity was assessed by analysing the interruption of mental health services in Brazil due to Covid-19 (T1) compared to when services resumed after social distancing measures were lifted (T2). Parents of 25 individuals with developmental disabilities (ASD, DS and ID), with a mean of 11 y/o, mostly male (76%), completed the EOQ. Service interruption during T1 led to increased frequency and duration of severe emotional outbursts reported by caregivers compared to T2 (frequency: p < .001; duration: p = 0.05). This suggests that the EOQ exhibits predictive validity and sensitivity to changes influenced by individual contexts. These findings highlight the EOQ's potential as an outcome measure for intervention development.

Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Contexts Associated with Emotional Outbursts.

The causal relationship between emotional outbursts and emotion dysregulation is proposed to be heterogeneous, but cultural influences have not been considered despite established cultural differences in emotional processes (e.g., increased motivation to suppress emotions in interdependent cultures). Responses to the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Emotional Outburst Questionnaire were collected from 327 caregivers of young people (6-25 years) with autism spectrum disorder, Down's syndrome, or intellectual disability. Responses were compared to a previous sample of 268 responses from the English version of the questionnaire. The latent factor structure of the contextual items was measurement invariant across both versions. The Brazilian responses were classified into three distinct clusters (Sensory Sensitivity; Perceived Safety; Perceived Unsafety) which considerably overlapped with the English clusters.