Measurement of External Shame: An Inside View

Abstract

The aims of this study were to investigate the construct validity of the Other as Shamer scale (OAS) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and to examine the psychometric properties of its Italian version in a sample of 687 nonclinical individuals. The CFA results indicated that the hypothesized hierarchical model (with 1 higher order factor and 3 first-order factors) was the best fitting solution. Cronbach's alpha indexes, as well as test-retest stability, provided satisfactory results. Correlations of the OAS total score and its subscales with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (rs = .30-.48) and the Teate Depression Inventory (rs = .32-.45) were both substantial and significant (p < .01). Receiver operating characteristic curves were constructed to indicate sensitivity and specificity of the OAS and its subscales when determining those nonclinical subjects who met clinical thresholds for depression symptoms. A series of cutoff scores for the OAS scale and its subscales was developed, with sensitivity values between .70 and .62, and specificity values between .71 and .62, indicating good to fair discrimination between the 2 groups (depressed vs. nondepressed). The theoretical and practical implications of these results were discussed.

A Validation Study of the Psychometric Properties of the Other As Shamer Scale–2

“…Such associations are similar in magnitude and directions to those found in the original OAS, as well as in the Italian version Balsamo, Macchia, et al, 2015), suggesting that individuals with higher levels of external shame, as measured by the OAS-2, also experience feelings of internal shame, depression, and anxiety symptoms.…”

“…These values were slightly higher than in the Italian 18-item OAS (Balsamo, Macchia, et al, 2015). Also, Cronbach's α of the OAS-2 (.89) total score was close to that of the longer version (.87) found in another Italian sample of 687 nonclinical adults (Balsamo, Macchia, et al, 2015), and higher than that reported in a Portuguese sample of 690 nonclinical adults, both for the short (.82) and long version (.89) (Matos et al, 2015;Matos et al, 2013). This added extra support for the reliability of the OAS-2 as a shorter measure of external shame.…”

“…While the hierarchical model of the OAS, tested by Balsamo, Macchia, et al (2015) in a large nonclinical sample, supported the use of both total score, as an overall index of external shame, and three subfactor scores, for measuring different components of external shame, that is, Inferiority, Emptiness, and Mistake, the OAS-2 provides an unique score, due to its unidimensional nature. This implies a loss of potential information about the interpretation of possible different dimensions of external shame.…”

“…The OAS-2 (Matos et al, 2015) is a short self-report measure of external shame, which includes eight items drawn from the Italian version (Balsamo, Macchia, et al, 2015) of the original 18-item OAS . This shorter measure of shame, which reflects the original one, was developed by Matos et al (2015) because of its advantage of being easier and quicker to administer, especially in clinical settings.…”

Guilt, Shame, Empathy, Self-Esteem, and Traumas: New Data for the Validation of the Interpersonal Guilt Rating Scale–15 Self-Report (IGRS-15s)

“…The Other As Shamer Scale (OAS; Goss et al, 1994) in its version validated in Italy (Balsamo et al, 2015). The scale includes 18 items, selected from the 25-items of the Internalized Shame Scale (ISS; Cook, 1993), and is aimed at measuring global judgments about how the self is evaluated by others.…”