DS-14 Type D Personality Scale – Chinese Version

Description

The Dutch scholar Denollet discovered through years of clinical practice and research on cardiovascular diseases that patients who frequently experience negative emotions such as depression, frustration, anger, and worry, while also suppressing their emotional expression in social interactions, have a mortality rate four times higher than that of a control group. Denollet termed this behavior pattern Type D personality (Distressed personality, also known as “depressed personality” or “sad personality”), summarizing it into two characteristics: Negative Affectivity (NA) and Social Inhibition (SI). Negative affectivity refers to a tendency to express negative emotions across time and situations, such as restlessness, anxiety, and irritability. Individuals with high negative affectivity tend to have a negative view of themselves and look at the world through a pessimistic lens. Social inhibition refers to the individual’s suppression of emotional and behavioral expression in social interactions due to fear of rejection. Individuals with high social inhibition often feel insecure, anxious, and reserved in social interactions. It is noteworthy that Denollet has emphasized multiple times that Type D personality is not a psychological disorder but a normal personality trait.

In 2006, the Type D Personality Scale (DS14) was introduced to mainland China for the first time, with a collaborative revision of the Chinese and English versions completed by the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tilburg University in the Netherlands, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Research results indicate that this scale has high reliability and validity, with internal consistency coefficients of NA at 0.92 and SI at 0.79; structural validity conforms to the theoretical conception of two factors.

Authors and Contact Email

Information not available.

Purpose

To measure the presence of Type D personality traits within individuals and understand its implications on health outcomes.

Test Year

2006

Administration Method and Scoring

The DS-14 Type D Personality Scale includes items scored on a Likert scale as follows:
– 0 (完全不符合) – Not at all true
– 1 (基本不符合) – Mostly not true
– 2 (中立) – Neutral
– 3 (基本符合) – Mostly true
– 4 (完全符合) – Totally true

Reliability and Validity

The scale exhibits high reliability (NA = 0.92, SI = 0.79) and validity, conforming to the two-factor theory.

Factors and Subscales

The scale is divided into two primary factors:
1. 消极情感 (Negative Affectivity, NA)
2. 社交压抑 (Social Inhibition, SI)

Keywords

Type D Personality, Negative Affectivity, Social Inhibition, Psychosocial Stress, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy.

Items in Chinese

1. 我善于与人打交道。
2. 我常常为一些琐事而小题大做。
3. 我常常与陌生人交谈。
4. 我经常感到不开心。
5. 我经常感到烦躁不安。
6. 与人交往时，我常常感到很拘谨。
7. 我对待事物的态度是悲观的。
8. 我觉得很难打开话题。
9. 我常常心情不好。
10. 我是一个自我封闭的人。
11. 我较喜欢与人保持距离。
12. 我常常忧心忡忡。
13. 我经常感到闷闷不乐。
14. 跟别人相处时，我找不到合适的话题。

Items in English

1. I am good at dealing with people.
2. I often make a big deal out of minor issues.
3. I often talk to strangers.
4. I frequently feel unhappy.
5. I often feel restless.
6. I often feel very reserved in social interactions.
7. I have a pessimistic attitude towards things.
8. I find it hard to start a conversation.
9. I often feel down.
10. I am a self-isolated person.
11. I prefer to keep my distance from others.
12. I often worry about things.
13. I frequently feel low-spirited.
14. I find it difficult to find suitable topics when interacting with others.

References

于肖楠,张建新.D型人格量表(DS14)在中国两所大学生样本中的试用[J].中国心理卫生杂志,2006(05):313-316.
郑慧敏. 大学生D型人格与心理压力感、心理健康的关系研究[D].南京师范大学,2014.
黄彦科. D型人格量表中文版的编制及其在社区人群中的应用[D].中南大学,2008.