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Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Hyperscanning Study in Psychological Counseling
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The Psychological Emptiness Scale: a psychometric evaluation.

Shona Joyce Herron1, Rob Saunders2, Fabio Sani3

  • 1Acute Mental Health Services, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, UK; and Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, UK.

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Summary

A new 19-item Psychological Emptiness Scale (PES) was developed to better measure feelings of emptiness. This validated tool shows strong psychometric properties for clinical use and research into psychological distress.

Keywords:
Emptinessclinical outcomes measurespersonality disordersrating scalessuicide

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Psychometrics

Background:

  • Feelings of emptiness are distressing and linked to mental health issues, self-harm, and suicide.
  • Previous research was limited by vague definitions and inadequate clinical measures of emptiness.
  • A new, lived-experience-validated definition of emptiness offers an opportunity for improved measurement.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To psychometrically evaluate the 31-item Psychological Emptiness Scale (PES).
  • To identify and remove redundant items to create a robust scale.
  • To optimize the PES for enhanced clinical utility.

Main Methods:

  • An online survey collected data from 768 participants on the PES and other mental health measures.
  • Exploratory factor analysis and item response theory identified item redundancy.
  • Expert clinical ratings, psychometric analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis refined the scale.

Main Results:

  • A two-factor structure ('nothingness' and 'detachment') was identified with acceptable fit.
  • The refined 19-item PES demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = 0.95).
  • The scale showed good convergent validity and test-retest reliability.

Conclusions:

  • The 19-item PES exhibits robust psychometric properties.
  • This validated scale can advance research on emptiness in psychological distress.
  • The PES has potential utility for clinical practice and treatment development.