A Psychometric Evaluation of the Guilt and Shame Experience Scale (GSES) on a Representative Adolescent Sample: A Low Differentiation between Guilt and Shame

Klara Malinakova, Jana Furstova, Michal Kalman and Radek Trnka
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Klara Malinakova: Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacký University Olomouc, 771 11 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Jana Furstova: Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacký University Olomouc, 771 11 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Michal Kalman: Faculty of Physical Culture, Institute of Active Living, Palacký University Olomouc, 771 11 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Radek Trnka: Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacký University Olomouc, 771 11 Olomouc, Czech Republic

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 23, 1-12

Abstract: The Guilt and Shame Experience Scale (GSES) is a new, brief self-report instrument for assessing experiences of guilt and shame. It includes two distinct scales: feelings of shame and feelings of guilt. The present report focuses on results from a final validation study using a nationally representative sample of 7899 adolescents (M age = 14.5 ± 1.1 years, 50.7% boys) who participated in the 2014 Health Behavior in School-aged Children study. For factor analysis, the dataset was divided into two groups. One group ( n = 3950) was used for the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and the second ( n = 3949) for the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The EFA results in a one-factor model of the GSES scale, while the CFA suggests a two-factor solution mirroring two scales, feelings of shame and feelings of guilt. Both models have a good fit to the data, and the scale also showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.89). A nonparametric comparison of different sociodemographic groups showed a higher disposition for experiencing guilt and shame among girls, students of the ninth grade, and religious respondents. A comparison of the results to previously published results obtained from adults indicates that adolescence is a developmental period involving low differentiation between moral emotions like guilt and shame compared with adulthood. Moreover, positive association with religious attendance shows a need of addressing these issues in a pastoral care setting.

Keywords: GSES; guilt; shame; psychometric evaluation; adolescents; religious attendance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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