Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 Research Articles

Self-Compassion, Anxiety and Depression Symptoms; the Mediation of Shame and Guilt.

Self-compassion is related to psychological well-being and can improve mental health problems. The present study aimed to examine the relationship of self-compassion with anxiety and depression symptoms considering the mediating effects of shame and guilt. Two hundred forty-three participants in Iran completed the measures of Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS), self-compassion Scale-Short Form (SCS-SF), and personal feelings questionnaire-2 (PFQ-2 Brief). The result showed that there was a significant negative correlation between self-compassion and shame, guilt, depression, and anxiety. The correlation between shame and guilt with depression and anxiety was also positive and significant. Mediation analysis was used to examine whether self-compassion predicted decreased symptoms of depression and anxiety through decreased shame and guilt. The results showed that self-compassion has a negative direct effect on depression symptoms. The direct effect of self-compassion on anxiety symptoms was not significant. Moreover, we found that shame and guilt mediate the relationship between self-compassion and depressive symptoms. However, the indirect effect of guilt on anxiety symptoms was not significant. The findings of the current study demonstrate that Self-compassion is linked to more psychological strengths and efficient emotional regulations, leading to less self-conscious emotions (shame and guilt) and decreased depression and anxiety symptoms.

Dimensions of the Burnout Measure: Relationships with shame- and guilt-proneness in neonatal intensive care unit nurses

BackgroundBurnout in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses has been correlated with personality proneness to shame. However, the structural validities of the one-factor Burnout Measure (BM) and the two-factor Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ-2) used to assess burnout and shame-proneness, respectively, in these nurses were not evaluated. ObjectivesThe aim of the study was (i) to perform factor analyses of the BM and the PFQ-2 and (ii) to determine the relationships of burnout dimensions retrieved by factor analysis with similarly validated dimensions of shame- and guilt-proneness in NICU nurses. MethodsThis is a multicentre cross-sectional cohort study that involved 142 (24%) of 585 NICU nurses who were currently providing direct newborn care in six level 3–4 NICUs in New South Wales, Australia. ResultsThe BM was a multidimensional measure of burnout composed of three latent factors: demoralisation, exhaustion, and loss of motive. Based on burnout dimension mean scores of 4 or more, worryingly high levels of demoralisation, exhaustion, and loss of motive were reported by 21%, 84%, and 24% of nurses, respectively. Shame and guilt together explained 41%, 9%, and 15% of the variance in demoralisation, exhaustion, and loss of motive, respectively. Shame controlled for guilt made respective large and moderate contributions to the variance in demoralisation (β = .62, p < .001) and loss of motive (β = .33, p < .001). Guilt moderated the effect of shame on loss of motive (ΔR2 = .031, p = .027). ConclusionsFactor analysis of the BM showed burnout in NICU nurses was a multidimensional syndrome comprising exhaustion, demoralisation, and loss of motive. Worryingly high levels of exhaustion, demoralisation, and loss of motive were not uncommon. The demoralisation dimension had a strong correlation with shame-proneness. Understanding the nature of demoralisation and the phenomenology of shame and guilt should be psychoeducational components of the holistic management of burnout in NICU nurses.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ-2) Shame Subscale Among Spanish-Speaking Female Sex Workers in Mexico.

Shame may increase HIV risk among stigmatized populations. The Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ-2) measures shame, but has not been validated in Spanish-speaking or nonclinical stigmatized populations disproportionately affected by HIV in resource-limited settings. We examined the psychometric properties of the Spanish-translated PFQ-2 shame subscale among female sex workers in two Mexico-U.S. border cities. From 2016 to 2017, 602 HIV-negative female sex workers in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez participated in an efficacy trial evaluating a behavior change maintenance intervention. Interviewer-administered surveys collected information on shame (10-item PFQ-2 subscale), psychosocial factors, and sociodemographics. Item performance, confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency, differential item functioning by city, and concurrent validity were assessed. Response options were collapsed to 3-point responses to improve item performance, and one misfit item was removed. The revised 9-item shame subscale supported a single construct and had good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .86). Notable differential item functioning was found but resulted in a negligible effect on overall scores. Correlations between the revised shame subscale and guilt (r = .79, p < .01), depression (r = .69, p < .01), and emotional support (r = -.28, p < .01) supported concurrent validity. The revised PFQ-2 shame subscale showed good reliability and concurrent validity in our sample, and should be explored in other stigmatized populations.

The effectiveness of combining mindfulness and art-making on depression, anxiety and shame in sexual assault victims: A pilot study

This article describes an 8-week intervention program for 16 female sexual assault victims in Iran aged 20–49. Sexual assault causes negative psychological consequences such as depression, anxiety and shame in victims. Although evidence-based treatments are effective in trauma treatment, they sometimes cannot cover the therapeutic needs of all patients and they have high dropout rates. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of combining mindfulness and art-making on depression, anxiety and shame in female Iranian sexual assault victims who were randomly assigned to control or experimental group in this study. Psychological questionnaire data were collected (Impact of Event Scale - Revised (IES-R), Beck’s Depression Inventory-2 (BDI-2), Beck’s Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and The Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ-2)) to assess the Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity and the changes in depression, anxiety and shame symptoms during the program. After conducting a one-way analysis of covariance, the findings indicated statistically significant effects of combining mindfulness and art-making on reducing depression, anxiety and shame symptoms in post-test and follow-up stages compared to no treatment controls. This article suggests that this program could facilitate the process of treatment for female sexually assaulted victims as an independent therapy or as a supplementary treatment accompanied by evidence-based methods.

Shame- and guilt-proneness in an italian sample: Latent structure and gender invariance of the personal feelings questionnaire-2 (PFQ-2)

The PFQ-2 is a brief and widely used questionnaire assessing shame- and maladaptive guilt-proneness. As empirical literature suggests cultural differences in self-conscious emotions, the present study aimed at validating the PFQ-2 in an Italian community sample (N = 367; 258 females; M age = 33.67). In particular, we investigated the factor structure of the PFQ-2, its invariance across genders, and associations of the two scales with clinically relevant constructs. Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed that a modified two-factor model fitted our data and could be replicated fairly well across genders. Both guilt- and shame-proneness scales showed acceptable internal consistency, adequate test-retest reliability, and significant associations with criterion measures (e.g., personality pathology, narcissism, psychopathological symptoms). Specific concerns regarding potentially weak items and implications of our findings were discussed. Overall, results mirror previous studies on shame- and guilt-proneness, and provide a validated Italian version of the PFQ-2 for the assessment of their clinical correlates in community samples.

Identity in adolescence and emerging adulthood: relationships with emotional and educational factors

Abstract In the processual approach to identity, the role of the interaction between subjective and contextual factors in the process of its development is emphasized. Based on the model of Luyckx et al. (2008) relationships between identity and educational context, as well as the tendency to experience shame and guilt were analyzed.. 821 people aged from 14-25 and belonging to six educational groups: (1) lower secondary school, (2) basic vocational school, (3) technical upper secondary school, (4) general upper secondary school, (5) post-secondary school (medical rescue, massage therapy, cosmetology, occupational therapy) and (6) university, took part in the research. Two questionnaires were used: The Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS), to allow the measurement of the five dimensions of identity postulated by Luyckx et al (2008) and The Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ-2, Harder, Zalma, 1990) to measure of the shame and guilt proneness. The results show that general upper secondary school students in terms of the dimensions of identity are closer to lower secondary school students rather than to their peers from technical and vocational schools. Among general upper secondary school students not only was a higher intensity of an identity crisis observed, but also a strong tendency to experience shame and guilt. Among lower secondary school students and general upper secondary school students, people with diffusion and moratorium as identity statuses prevailed, while in the remaining groups the achievement and foreclosure identity were observed more frequently. A general relationship was also observed, namely, a greater tendency to experience shame was associated with a higher intensity of an identity crisis.

Negative self‐conscious emotion and grief: An actor–partner analysis in couples bereaved by stillbirth or neonatal death

The purpose of the present study was to examine the intrapersonal (actor) and interpersonal (partner) relationships of personality proneness to negative self-conscious emotion (shame and guilt) to grief in couples 13 months after a perinatal death. A cohort study using self-report questionnaire measures of grief, shame, and guilt. The participants were 63 Australian couples bereaved by stillbirth (N= 31) or neonatal death (N= 32). The actor and partner relationships of chronic shame (Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2), situational shame (Test of Self-Conscious Affect-2), and survivor guilt and omnipotence guilt (Interpersonal Guilt Questionnaire-67) to grief (Perinatal Grief Scale-33) were explored using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) method of dyadic analysis. The correlations between the self-conscious emotions and grief were invariably larger in men compared with women. Chronic shame had a significant actor relationship with grief in women and men and a non-significant partner relationship in both sexes. Situational shame and survivor guilt had significant actor relationships with grief in men and significant partner relationships in women. Omnipotence guilt had a significant linear actor relationship with grief in men and a significant U-shaped quadratic actor relationship in women. Negative self-conscious emotions had intrapersonal relationship with grief in men and both intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships with grief in women. A moderate level of omnipotence guilt was associated with lower grief in women. APIM dyadic analysis furthers understanding of the relationship between personality and parental grief following a perinatal death.

Problematic Emotions and Maternal Grief

The study was an empirical examination of the relation of personality proneness to "problematic social emotions"--envy (Dispositional Envy Scale), jealousy (Interpersonal Jealousy Scale), and shame and guilt (Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2)--to maternal grief (Perinatal Grief Scale-33) following miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, or infant/child death. The 441 women who participated in the study were enrolled from the Website, e-mail contact lists, and parent support groups of an organization that offers information and support to bereaved parents. All four problematic emotions were positively correlated with maternal grief. Envy, jealousy, and guilt made significant unique contributions to the variance in maternal grief. Overall, time lapse since the loss and the four problematic emotion predispositions explained 43% of the variance in maternal grief following child bereavement.

Assessment of shame and guilt in a psychiatric sample: a comparison of two measures

The relationship between measures of shame, guilt, and psychopathology was examined in a heterogeneous inpatient sample ( n=82) using the Test of Self-Conscious Affect (TOSCA) and the Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ-2). It was predicted that both shame scales would correlate positively with measures of psychopathology. This hypothesis was supported in bivariate analyses, however, when partialed for each respective guilt scale, only the TOSCA maintained significant associations with measures of psychopathology. It was predicted that only the PFQ-2 guilt scale would correlate positively with measures of psychopathology, and this hypothesis was supported in both bivariate analyses and partial correlations, controlling for shame scores. These findings support previous work, suggesting that the TOSCA and PFQ-2 guilt scales assess different constructs of guilt. Methodological issues of shame and guilt assessment with psychiatric patients also are discussed.

Further validation of the shame and guilt scales of the Harder Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2.

Previous research using the Harder Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 has generally supported the validity of its subscales for the measurement of the traits of proneness to shame and guilt. This study extended the construct validity by investigating hypothesized relationships between scores on the questionnaire and several personality constructs not previously examined, including attachment style, the five personality factors assessed by the NEO-Five Factor Inventory, Sensation Seeking and Positive Affect (both from the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List-Revised). Shame and guilt scales were each expected to correlate inversely with secure attachment, Extraversion, Openness, Sensation Seeking (uninhibitidness), and Positive Affect, while they were predicted to correlate positively with Neuroticism from the NEO measure. Shame was expected to show stronger relationships than guilt with Extraversion, Openness, and Sensation Seeking. For the 41 college students results were mostly as predicted, even after shame and guilt scores were partialled for each other, thereby providing further evidence for the construct validity of the Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 scales.

Measure for Measure: A Multitrait-Multimethod Analysis of Guilt and Shame

There is ongoing discussion in the literature regarding the validity of various checklist and scenario-based measures of guilt-and shame-proneness. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to perform multitrait-multimethod assessments of trait, method, and error components in the top three contending instruments is this area. College students (85 men, 197 women) completed the Test of Self-Conscious Affect-Modified (TOSCA-M) Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ-2), and the Guilt Inventory. A model in which shame and guilt each represented a separate latent trait construct provided a good fit to the data. Scores for shame from both the TOSCA-M and PFQ-2 loaded highly on the latent shame factor. With the exception of scores for nonruminative guilt derived from the TOSCA-M, all remaining scores for guilt had substantial loadings on the latent trait construct of guilt. Discussion focuses on the need to pay serious attention to methods effects in this area, provides explanations for why two qualitatively distinct forms of guilt can be exacted using these methods, and urges specialists in this area to refrain from using single measurement instruments to assess multiple construct.

Additional validity evidence for the Harder Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ2): a measure of shame and guilt proneness.

The present study sought to provide additional evidence for the construct validity of the Harder (Harder & Zalma, 1990) Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ2), a recently revised measure of shame and guilt proneness. Seventy university students, 35 male and 35 female, completed the PFQ2 and scales that assess self-derogation, instability of self-concept, shyness, social anxiety, public self-consciousness, private self-consciousness, and locus of control. The correlation results were generally consistent with validity predictions. As in previous studies, however, the discriminant validity of the shame and guilt scales was supported, but not strongly.

Assessment of shame and guilt and their relationships to psychopathology.

Two studies are reported. First, we tested the previously validated Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ2; Harder & Zalma, 1990) shame and guilt measure and the Adapted Shame and Guilt Scale (ASGS; Hoblitzelle, 1982) Shame subscale against the newly introduced Self-Conscious Affect and Attribution Inventory (SCAAI; Tangney, 1990) for shame and guilt dispositions. Fifty-nine college undergraduates completed randomly ordered personality inventories reflecting constructs theoretically relevant to the presence of shame and guilt proneness. Correlations between the affect measures and personality variables showed evidence of validity for all shame scales. The PFQ2 Guilt subscale also demonstrated construct validity when partialled for shame, but the SCAAI did not. Second, we tested hypotheses regarding the relative importance of shame and guilt to various symptom types (Symptom Checklist-90-Revised; Derogatis, 1983) using 71 college undergraduates. Both emotions were approximately equally related to all major symptom clusters, but there was some evidence for differential patterns of relative importance for shame and guilt to different symptoms.