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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 24, 2026

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
07:56

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Published on: September 19, 2019

Assessing guilt toward the former spouse.

Anne Wietzker1, Ann Buysse

  • 1Department for Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. anne.wietzker@ugent.be

Psychological Assessment
|February 29, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed the Guilt in Separation Scale (GiSS) to measure divorce-related guilt. This new scale demonstrates strong reliability and validity for assessing feelings toward a former spouse.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Social Sciences

Background:

  • Divorce frequently involves feelings of guilt directed at a former spouse.
  • Existing measurement tools for this specific type of guilt are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a reliable scale for measuring guilt in the context of separation and divorce.
  • To introduce the Guilt in Separation Scale (GiSS).

Main Methods:

  • Content validity was established using expert and layperson input for item generation and selection.
  • Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on a sample of 214 divorced individuals.
  • Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on a sample of 458 individuals undergoing divorce.

Main Results:

  • The Guilt in Separation Scale (GiSS) demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = .91).
  • High test-retest reliability was observed at 6 months (r = .72) and 12 months (r = .76).
  • The GiSS showed significant relationships with measures of shame, regret, compassion, cause of separation, infidelity, and psychological functioning, supporting its construct validity.

Conclusions:

  • The Guilt in Separation Scale (GiSS) is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring guilt experienced after separation.
  • The scale can be a valuable tool for research and clinical practice concerning the psychological impact of divorce.