Measuring alcohol use-related shame and guilt: Development and validation of the Perceptions of Drinking Scale

Background: The dispositional tendency to experience guilt is inversely related to disordered alcohol use, while dispositional shame-proneness appears to share a positive relationship with alcohol problems.

Objective: In order to further research in this domain, a new measure of alcohol userelated shame and guilt is described.

Methods: Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the psychometric properties of the Perceptions of Drinking Scale (PODS) were validated across two independent samples (Sample 1 N ¼ 293, Sample 2 N ¼ 429).

Results: A four factor model of the PODS was identified in exploratory factor analysis. The hypothesized four-factor PODS model was validated in an independent sample using CFA (RMSEA ¼ .046; CFI ¼ .99; TLI¼ .99). Alcohol use-related shame and guilt were reliably differentiated, and test re-test stability, divergent and convergent validity was established. Alcohol use-related shame was not clearly related to taking action to address problematic alcohol use, but was positively related with measures of negative affect and using avoidance-based coping strategies. Conversely, alcohol userelated guilt was generally unrelated to measures of negative affect and was clearly associated with the taking of action to address problematic alcohol use.

Conclusions: The Perceptions of Drinking Scale has good psychometric properties and also appears to reliably distinguish between experiences of alcohol use-related shame and guilt. Both alcohol use-related shame and guilt appear to be positively associated with the contemplation of changing one’s alcohol use-related behaviors. Only alcohol use-related guilt was clearly linked to the taking of action to address problematic drinking behavior.