Guilt and Shame Experience Scale (GSES)

The Guilt and Shame Experience Scale (GSES) is a short, reliable self-report measure of the experience of guilt and shame. This eight-item questionnaire is divided into two subscales of four items, each of which captures one construct (guilt and shame). The individual items are short statements to which the respondent expresses a degree of identification on a four-point scale ranging from “not at all” to “a lot”.

Length of completion

The entire questionnaire takes no more than 5 minutes to complete.

Individualized feedback for the respondent

By completing the scale, the proband will find out how strongly they experience feelings of guilt and shame.

Keywords

GSES, scale, guilt, shame, embarrassment, shame

Scoring and interpretation

The GSES total score is calculated by summing the responses to all items, thus ranges from 8 to 32, with higher scores corresponding to higher experiences of guilt and shame.

Response Scale

Respondents answer each item on a four-point word-anchored Likert scale ranging from “not at all” (1) to “a lot” (4).

References

Malinakova, K., Furstova, J., Kalman, M., & Trnka, R. (2020). A Psychometric Evaluation of the Guilt and Shame Experience Scale (GSES) on a Representative Adolescent Sample: A Low Differentiation between Guilt and Shame. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(23). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238901

Malinakova, K., Cerna, A., Furstova, J., Cermak, I., Trnka, R., & Tavel, P. (2019). Psychometric Analysis of the Guilt and Shame Experience Scale (GSES). Ceskoslovenska psychologie, 63(2), 177-192. https://www.academia.edu/42034885/Psychometric_analysis_of_the_guilt_and_shame_experience_scale_GSES_