Herron, Shona Joyce;
Saunders, Rob;
Sani, Fabio;
Feigenbaum, Janet;
(2024)
The Psychological Emptiness Scale: a psychometric evaluation.
BJPsych Open
, 10
(2)
, Article e42. 10.1192/bjo.2023.649.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Feelings of emptiness are commonly reported as deeply distressing experiences. Despite established relationships between emptiness and many mental health difficulties, alongside self-harm and suicide, further study into this phenomenon has been restricted by vague definition and clinical measures with limited utility. Recently the first definition validated by individuals with lived experience of emptiness has been conceptualised, providing an opportunity to create a new measure of emptiness. AIMS: This study aimed to psychometrically evaluate the 31-item Psychological Emptiness Scale (PES), identifying redundancy, and thus creating a psychometrically robust scale with optimised clinical utility. METHOD: Utilising an online survey design, 768 participants completed the 31 items of the initial PES alongside other measures of mental health. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted, and item response theory employed to identify item redundancy and reduce test burden. Expert clinicians provided ratings of each item's clinical relevance and, combined with the psychometric analysis, led to the removal of a number of items. Confirmatory factor analysis was then undertaken. Reliability including test-retest, validity and sensitivity of the measure were evaluated. RESULTS: A two-factor structure encompassing 'nothingness' and 'detachment' was identified, and found to have acceptable fit. The resulting 19-item PES was found to have internal consistency (α = 0.95), convergent validity and test-retest reliability. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated strong psychometric properties of the PES. The PES has potential to support research into the role of emptiness in psychological distress and treatment in clinical practice.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Psychological Emptiness Scale: a psychometric evaluation |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1192/bjo.2023.649 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2023.649 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited. Copyright Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists |
| Keywords: | Emptiness, clinical outcomes measures, personality disorders, rating scales, suicide |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10186704 |
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