Measures

All scales are public. Please use them as you need!

Rejection Sensitivity Measures

These measures are available to the public. If you intend to use any of them, please be sure to read the available literature or contact a member of our lab for information on the psychometric properties of the measure.

The RS-Race Questionnaire was developed for African-Americans. It may not be appropriate to use it with other populations. This questionnaire includes 12 (twelve) items. If you intend to use this measure, we suggest that you read the following paper: Mendoza-Denton, R., Downey, G., Purdie, V., & Davis, A. (2002). Sensitivity to race-based rejection: Implications for African-American students’ college experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 896-918.

 

How to score:

  1. Each item in the RS-Race Questionnaire includes two questions.
  2. To obtain a score for each item, multiply scores on each question. The score for each question is simply the chosen number.
  3. To obtain a total score, average the scores for all the items.

 

Click here to download RSQ – Race

These measures are available to the public. If you intend to use any of them, please be sure to read the available literature or contact a member of our lab for information on the psychometric properties of the measure.

The RS-Gender Questionnaire is an extension of Professor Downey’s original RSQ. More information about the RS-Gender Questionnaire can be found at Professor London's Lab website. http://www.psychology.stonybrook.edu/blondon

Click here to download the RS-Gender Questionnaire

This measure is available to the public. If you intend to use it, please be sure to read the available literature, including the linked paper below containing psychometric properties of the A-RSQ, or contact a member of our lab for information.

The RS-Adult questionnaire (A-RSQ) has been recently developed for use in adult populations. In 685 adults who completed the measure over the internet, the measure had the following characteristics:

Mean = 8.61
Standard Deviation = 3.61
Range = 1.00 – 24.22

In the first published study employing the A-RSQ (n=87), the measure had the following characteristics:

Mean = 8.99
Standard Deviation = 3.60
Internal consistency (alpha) = .74

How to Score:

Calculate a score of rejection sensitivity for each situation by multiplying the level of rejection concern (the response to question a) by the reverse of the level of acceptance expectancy (the response to question b).
The formula is: rejection sensitivity = (rejection) * (7-acceptance expectancy)
Take the mean of the resulting 9 scores to obtain the overall rejection sensitivity score.

Click here to download A-RSQ

Click here to download: Berenson, K. R., Gyurak, A., Ayudak, O., Downey, G., Garner, M. J., Mogg, K., Bradley, B. P., & Pine (2009). Rejection sensitivity and disruption of attention by social threat cues. Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 1064-1072. Study 2 contains psychometric and validity information of the A-RSQ

These measures are available to the public. If you intend to use any of them, please be sure to read the available literature or contact a member of our lab for information on the psychometric properties of the measure.

This is a 12 (twelve) item questionnaire that works with 3rd to 8th graders. Included in this questionnaire are 6 (six) items that, when aggregated, predict teacher reports of interpersonal sensitivity and interpersonal difficulties. If you intend to use this measure, we suggest that you read the following paper: Ayduk, O., Mendoza-Denton, R., Mischel, W., Downey, G., Peake, P. K., & Rodriguez, M. (2000). Regulating the interpersonal self: Strategic self-regulation for coping with rejection sensitivity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 776-792.

How to score:

  1. Each item in the RSQ-Children’s includes two questions.
  2. To obtain a score for each item, multiply scores on each question. The score for each question is simply the chosen number.
  3. To obtain a total score, average the scores for all the items.

 

Click here to download psychometric properties

 

Children’s Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (CRSQ) – 12 item

 

Children’s Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (CRSQ) – 6 items used for teacher reports

 

Downey, G., Lebolt, A., Rincon, C., & Freitas, A.L. (1998)

These measures are available to the public. If you intend to use any of them, please be sure to read the available literature or contact a member of our lab for information on the psychometric properties of the measure.

The RSQ is intended to measure an individual’s levels of RS-personal. It is not designed for a specific population. There are two versions. One includes 8 (eight) items and the other includes 18 (eighteen) items. If you intend to use this measure, we suggest that you read the following paper: Downey, G., & Feldman, S. I. (1996). Implications of Rejection Sensitivity for Intimate Relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 1327-1343.

Characteristics of the Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire (RSQ)

Scale Range1 (low) to
36 (high)

Number of items in scale18

Mean (standard deviation)9.69 (3.07)

Skewness0.65

Interquartile range7.6-11.4

Internal consistency (alpha)0.81

Correlation with Interpersonal Sensitivity Scale of the SCL-90 (n=310)0.48

Correlation with socre on the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (n=295)0.41

Correlation with score on the Beck Depression Inventory (n=303)0.35

Test-retest reliability (n=104)0.83

 

Scoring the RSQ 8 item & 18 item questionnaire:

  1. Calculate a score of rejection sensitivity for each situation by multiplying the level of rejection concern (the response to question a.) by the reverse of the level of acceptance expectancy (the response to question b.). The formula is:
    rejection sensitivity = (rejection concern) * (7-acceptance expectancy)
  2. Take the mean of the resulting 8 scores to obtain the overall rejection sensitivity score for the 8 item questionnaire; or take the mean of the resulting 18 scores to obtain the overall rejection sensitivity score for the 8 item questionnaire.

 

Click here to download RSQ/RS – Personal (8 item)

 

Click here to download RSQ/RS – Personal (18 item)