DefinePK

Abstract

The study was aimed to translate, adapt, and validate a universally recognized measure of shame and guilt that is Test of Selfconscious Affect for Adolescents (TOSCA-A) and to test generalization across gender. Sample of the study comprised of 459 adolescents from public and private educational institutions of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Confirmatory factor analysis was carried out to estimate the factor structure of TOSCA-A. Model fit indices confirmed the factor structure of TOSCA-A. Multi-group invariance test was conducted to estimate the gender sensitivity of the scale. Results revealed that Scale is a valid measure of shame and guilt for boys and girls. The range of factor loadings on shame was .36 to .55 (except for item 9a and 5b) and factor loadings on guilt were ranging from .31 to .56 (except for item 6b). The three items were retained as they appeared to show good loadings in multi-group analysis across gender. Reliabilities (Cronbach’s alpha .80 and .81 for shame and guilt, respectively) showed that the scale is a reliable measure of shame and guilt. Structural models showed nonsignificant gender differences suggesting generalization of the factor structure for both boys and girls. Translated version of TOSCA-A appeared to be a reliable and valid measure of shame and guilt. It was also found to be equally generalizable and valid measure for both boys and girls as a measure of shame and guilt.