Turkish Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the State Shame and Guilt Scale

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to adapt the 15-item State Shame and Guilt Scale (SSGS) into Turkish and examine the structural, convergent, and discriminant validity, measurement invariance across gender, and reliability of the Turkish form. Method: The study included 450 adults aged 18-76 years (M = 28.36, SD = 11.14). Structural validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with principal axis factoring and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Configural, metric, and scalar invariance across gender were tested using multigroup CFA. Convergent validity was evaluated through associations with state and trait anxiety and current mood, whereas discriminant validity was assessed using heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) ratios. Reliability was examined using Cronbach’s alpha, McDonald’s omega, and Guttman split-half coefficients. Results: Although parallel analysis suggested four factors in EFA, the four-factor solution did not yield a simple and theoretically interpretable structure. The three-factor solution explained 48.4% of the total variance and showed acceptable-to-good fit in the CFA (χ²(87) = 223, CFI = .949, TLI = .938, SRMR = .044, and RMSEA = .059). The three-factor model showed substantially better fit than the one-factor alternative. Alpha coefficients ranged from .795 to .831, and omega coefficients ranged from .800 to .831. Conclusion: The findings indicate that the original shame, guilt, and pride dimensions were retained in the Turkish SSGS, that the subscale scores can be interpreted as largely comparable across women and men, and that the scale can be used as a valid and reliable measure of state self-conscious emotions.