The Measure of Verbally Expressed Emotion: Development and Factor Structure of a Scale Designed to Assess Comfort Expressing Feelings to Others

Emotional expressiveness, which refers to the extent to which people outwardly display their emotions, is associated with various indices of well-being. This study presents findings on the Measure of Verbally Expressed Emotion (MoVEE), an instrument designed to assess comfort expressing both positive and negative emotions to others. A series of studies is described in this paper: 1) pilot study which included 60 undergraduates (69.4 % female) from a small college, 2) exploratory factor analytic study which included 835 undergraduates (68 % female) from a large university, and 3) confirmatory factor analytic and validity study which included 449 undergraduates (73.3 % female). The initial MoVEE included 57 items assessing comfort expressing seven emotional states; the final MoVEE, supported by both an EFA and a CFA, is a 19-item measure assessing comfort expressing love, happiness, anger, and sadness. Analyses suggest that the MoVEE is a valid measure that may be a useful tool in clinical settings.