Development of the Japanese version of the Other As Shamer Scale using item response theory

OBJECTIVE: External shame reflects a person’s anxiety that he or she might be rejected by others. The Other as Shamer Scale (OAS) is a scale for assessing external shame. The Japanese version of the OAS was developed, and its reliability and validity were examined using Item Response Theory (IRT). RESULTS: A survey was conducted with university students (N = 199). Exploratory factor analysis of the results indicated a significantly high factor loading on the first factor, which was identical to the original version of the scale as well as high internal consistency. Moreover, the results confirmed that each item had adequate discrimination and information levels, suggesting that external shame could be discriminated against with high accuracy for a wide range of relatively low and relatively high external shame groups. These results suggest that the OAS could be used to screen external shame as a stress factor and to assess intervention effects.