The Turkish Adaptation of the Psychological Emptiness Scale: A Validity and Reliability Study

Author/s: Çağla Girgin Büyükbayraktar

DOI: http://doi.org/10.37898/ spiritualpc.1587828 

Year: 2025 Vol: 10 Number: 2

Abstract

The current study aims to adapt the Psychological Emptiness Scale (PES) into Turkish and evaluate its psychometric properties to establish a valid and reliable measurement tool. Feelings of emptiness are linked to mental health issues and the risk of suicide; however, research on this phenomenon is still limited. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) results supported a two-factor structure of the scale, consisting of “nothingness” and “detachment.” The fit indices (χ²/df = 4.892, RMSEA = .074, SRMR = .041, CFI = .925) and factor loadings (.567–.771) indicate a good model fit. Internal consistency values were α = .890 for nothingness, α = .910 for detachment, and α = .947 for the total scale. Convergent validity analyses demonstrated significant correlations between the PES and factors such as loneliness (r = .655), borderline symptoms (r = .792), and life satisfaction (r = −.568). Additionally, skewness and kurtosis values suggested that the scale is appropriate for parametric analyses. The findings highlight the effectiveness of the PES as a tool for assessing psychological emptiness in individuals. Future studies are recommended to evaluate the scale in different samples and conduct cross-validation research.

Keywords
Psychological emptiness • Measurement tool • Validity • Reliability • Turkish adaptation