The Experience of Shame Scale (ESS)
Background
The Experience of Shame Scale (ESS) is a 25-item designed to measure an individual's level of chronic, domain-specific shame. Developed by researchers Bernice Andrews and colleagues in 2002, the scale evaluates how frequently and intensely a person has experienced shame over the past year.
The ESS differentiates breaks down the feeling of shame into three areas:
- Characterological Shame (12 questions): Shame focused on stable personal traits (e.g., your personal habits, abilities, or the kind of person you are).
- Behavioral Shame (9 questions): Shame triggered by specific actions or events (e.g., saying something stupid, doing something wrong, or failing in a competition).
- Bodily Shame (4 questions): Shame and self-consciousness centered on physical appearance and body parts.
The ESS scale has shown high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha ≥ 0.92) and high retest reliability.
Task Procedure
Participants evaluate 25 questions such as "Have you felt ashamed of any of your personal habits?" regarding their own feelings of shame over the last year. The 4 response anchors for the questions range from 'Not at all' (1 point) to 'Very Much' (4 points) with higher scores indicate a greater frequency and severity of shame experiences. The inventory does not contain any reversed-scored items.
What it Measures
The Experience of Shame Scale (ESS) assesses chronic, domain-specific shame.
Psychological domains
- Self-Esteem: Overall subjective evaluation of one's own worth or value
- Rumination: Tendency to dwell on negative emotions and distress
Main Performance Metrics
- Total: Sum of all question scores (Range: 25-100; higher rating indicates greater frequency and severity of reported shame experiences)
- Subscale Scores: score for each subscale
Psychiatric Conditions
The ESS is used to evaluate and monitor patients experiencing:
- Depressive Disorders
- Eating Disorders
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Anxiety Disorders
The ESS by Andrews et al (2002) is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure frequency and severity of shame experiences.
References
Search Google Scholar for peer-reviewed, published research using the Inquisit The Experience of Shame Scale (ESS).
Andrews B, Qian M, Valentine JD. (2002). Predicting depressive symptoms with a new measure of shame: The Experience of Shame Scale. Br J Clin Psychol. 2002 Mar;41(Pt 1):29-42
López‐Castro, T., Saraiya, T., Zumberg‐Smith, K., & Dambreville, N. (2019). Association Between Shame and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Meta‐Analysis. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 32(4), 484–495. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22411
Nechita, D., Bud, S., & David, D. (2021). Shame and eating disorders symptoms: A meta‐analysis. The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 54(11), 1899–1945. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23583
Sadath, A., Kavalidou, K., McMahon, E., Malone, K., & McLoughlin, A. (2024). Associations between humiliation, shame, self-harm and suicidality among adolescents and young adults: A systematic review. PloS One, 19(2), e0292691. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292691