[French translation and validation of Izard's differential emotion scale. Study of the verbal qualification of emotions].

This work presents the validation of a French version of the emotional self rating scale by Izard (Differential Emotion Scale). This scale is based on the theory of the Discrete Emotions which proposes the existence of ten fundamental emotions. This self-rating scale consists of thirty emotional adjectives (three for each emotion). The validation was done by using a non inductive method (by asking the subject to describe his present emotional state) with 84 control subjects. It shows that this version is valid. Main results are first the binarisation of the emotions (positive and negative), then the existence of complex factors with psychopathological meaning after factorial analysis. These results are in agreement with a theory of expressive emotional levels more than with the theory of discrete emotions in psychopathology.