Male guilt – and shame-proneness: The Personal Feelings Questionnaire (PFQ-2 Brief)

Abstract

Extant research points to shame and guilt as salient affective experiences for men’s mental health outcomes. As the constructs of shame and guilt gain increasing research attention in relation to at-risk men, including those with recent military combat experience, history of sexual abuse, substance misuse and suicidality, valid and reliable assessment is needed. The present psychometric validation study had four arms (Study 1a, 1b, 1c and Study 2) and aimed to validate a short-form of the Personal Feelings Questionnaire (PFQ-2) for assessing guilt and shame. Data were collected from four independent samples of men across community and clinical populations (total N=1042). In Study 1a (n=333) the factor structure of the original 16-item PFQ-2 was rejected. In Study 1b (n=332) a 7-item PFQ-2 Brief was calibrated. This was validated using confirmatory factor analysis in Study 1c (n=335; CFI=0.986, TLI=0.978, RMSEA=0.060, SRMR=0.026). Finally, PFQ-2 Brief properties were evaluated in 42 men attending outpatient psychiatric care (Study 2). The PFQ-2 Brief appears to provide a valid and reliable measure for assessing guilt – and shame-proneness in men and as such, should aid further investigations of the manner in which the two affect styles impact help-seeking, treatment engagement, treatment outcomes, and men’s overall mental health.