{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T20:00:05Z","timestamp":1787169605119,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"Royal College of Psychiatrists","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,1]],"date-time":"2024-02-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1706745600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BJPsych open"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,3]]},"abstract":"\n Background<\/jats:title>\n Feelings of emptiness are commonly reported as deeply distressing experiences. Despite established relationships between emptiness and many mental health difficulties, alongside self-harm and suicide, further study into this phenomenon has been restricted by vague definition and clinical measures with limited utility. Recently the first definition validated by individuals with lived experience of emptiness has been conceptualised, providing an opportunity to create a new measure of emptiness.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Aims<\/jats:title>\n This study aimed to psychometrically evaluate the 31-item Psychological Emptiness Scale (PES), identifying redundancy, and thus creating a psychometrically robust scale with optimised clinical utility.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Method<\/jats:title>\n Utilising an online survey design, 768 participants completed the 31 items of the initial PES alongside other measures of mental health. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted, and item response theory employed to identify item redundancy and reduce test burden. Expert clinicians provided ratings of each item's clinical relevance and, combined with the psychometric analysis, led to the removal of a number of items. Confirmatory factor analysis was then undertaken. Reliability including test\u2013retest, validity and sensitivity of the measure were evaluated.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n A two-factor structure encompassing \u2018nothingness\u2019 and \u2018detachment\u2019 was identified, and found to have acceptable fit. The resulting 19-item PES was found to have internal consistency (\n \u03b1<\/jats:italic>\n = 0.95), convergent validity and test\u2013retest reliability.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n This study demonstrated strong psychometric properties of the PES. The PES has potential to support research into the role of emptiness in psychological distress and treatment in clinical practice.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1192\/bjo.2023.649","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,1]],"date-time":"2024-02-01T04:34:25Z","timestamp":1706762065000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["The Psychological Emptiness Scale: a psychometric evaluation"],"prefix":"10.1192","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7737-1526","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shona Joyce","family":"Herron","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7077-8729","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rob","family":"Saunders","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fabio","family":"Sani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Janet","family":"Feigenbaum","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"170","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"S205647242300649X_ref12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"228","DOI":"10.1192\/bjp.183.3.228","article-title":"Standardised Assessment Of Personality\u2013Abbreviated Scale (SAPAS): preliminary validation of a brief screen for personality disorder","volume":"183","author":"Moran","year":"2003","journal-title":"Br J Psychiatry"},{"key":"S205647242300649X_ref17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1186\/s12955-016-0573-9","article-title":"Psychometric properties of the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS): secondary analysis of the Mexican health and aging study","volume":"14","author":"L\u00f3pez-Ortega","year":"2016","journal-title":"Health Qual Life Outcomes"},{"key":"S205647242300649X_ref15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"472","DOI":"10.1037\/0022-3514.39.3.472","article-title":"The Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: concurrent and discriminant validity evidence","volume":"39","author":"Russell","year":"1980","journal-title":"J Pers Soc Psychol"},{"key":"S205647242300649X_ref25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-244X-10-10","article-title":"Screening for personality disorder with the Standardised Assessment of Personality: Abbreviated Scale (SAPAS): further evidence of concurrent validity","volume":"10","author":"Hesse","year":"2010","journal-title":"BMC Psychiatry"},{"key":"S205647242300649X_ref13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"250","DOI":"10.1002\/pmh.1307","article-title":"Validation of the Standardised Assessment Of Personality\u2013Abbreviated Scale in a general population sample","volume":"9","author":"Folk","year":"2015","journal-title":"Pers Ment Health"},{"key":"S205647242300649X_ref23","first-page":"63","article-title":"Exploring data","author":"Field","year":"2005","journal-title":"Discovering Statistics Using SPSS (Introducing Statistical Methods)"},{"key":"S205647242300649X_ref29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"94","DOI":"10.1017\/S0140525X10000300","article-title":"Wired but not WEIRD: the promise of the internet in reaching more diverse samples","volume":"33","author":"Gosling","year":"2010","journal-title":"Behav Brain Sci"},{"key":"S205647242300649X_ref16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"655","DOI":"10.1177\/0164027504268574","article-title":"A short scale for measuring loneliness in large surveys: results from two population-based studies","volume":"26","author":"Hughes","year":"2004","journal-title":"Res Aging"},{"key":"S205647242300649X_ref30","unstructured":"30 Office for National Statistics. 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Sense of emptiness: development and validation of a scale . DPhil doctoral thesis Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 2018."},{"key":"S205647242300649X_ref1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0233970","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0233970","article-title":"Measuring the shadows: a systematic review of chronic emptiness in borderline personality disorder","volume":"15","author":"Miller","year":"2020","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"S205647242300649X_ref28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"418","DOI":"10.1521\/pedi.2008.22.4.418","article-title":"What is emptiness? 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Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists","name":"copyright","label":"Copyright","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.","name":"license","label":"License","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This content has been made available to all.","name":"free","label":"Free to read"}],"article-number":"e42"}}