Low frustration tolerance is one of the key concepts in rational emotional behavior therapy (REBT). The purpose of this study is to explore the factorial structure, reliability, and validity of the Romanian version of the Frustration Discomfort Scale (FDS), developed by Harrington (Clin Psychol Psychother 12(5):374–387, 2005b. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.465), within a non-clinical sample (N = 308) of Romanian teachers. For validation purposes, participants also completed several measures such as the Unconditional Self-Acceptance Questionnaire (USAQ) (Chamberlain and Haaga in J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Ther 19(3):163–176, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011189416600), Attitudes and Belief Scale 2 (ABS2) (DiGiuseppe et al. J Ration Emot Cogn Behav Ther 36(1):47–79, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-017-0273-3), Teacher Irrational Belief Scale (TIBS) (Bernard Teacher irrationality and teacher stress, 24th international congress of psychology, Sydney, Australia, 1988), and Pupil Control Ideology Scale (PCI) (Willower et al. The school and pupil control, The Pennsylvania State University, 1967). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) suggests that the initial four-factor solution from the scale development study received similar support to the one-factor solution found in some previous studies. Patterns of correlations linking the FDS total sum score versus the FDS 4-factor scale scores with other variables provide some support for the one-factor solution, mainly because it is a more parsimonious solution. Differentiating between several subcomponents of FDS does not bring discriminant validity in our non-clinical sample. Based on current preliminary validation, the FDS is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing frustration discomfort in a Romanian-speaking population as a single-factor construct. Our results do not exclude the possibility that future discriminant validity endeavors could support the utility of treating low frustration tolerance as a multidimensional construct since using a non-clinical sample is likely to impact the factorial structure of the FDS.

Teaching requires sustained emotional effort from educators, and the gap between reality and teachers’ expectations regarding student engagement can negatively affect their psychological well-being. The current research implemented a program to reduce their frustration discomfort. The main objective was to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention program based on the Rational-Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) framework, specifically designed for middle school teachers. A sample of 54 teachers was gathered and conveniently divided into two equal groups: intervention and control. Participants in the intervention group participated in a weekly REBT group intervention program for six weeks, while the control group did not receive any intervention. Evaluations were conducted at four points: pretest, post-test, and follow-up assessments three and seven months after the intervention. Frustration discomfort was the primary dependent variable, while low frustration tolerance as an irrational belief, and pupil control ideology were treated as secondary dependent variables. The results indicated that the intervention effectively reduced frustration discomfort, and this positive effect was maintained during the follow-up assessments.