Abstract
Existential nihilism is a worldview characterized by the belief that the totality of existence is meaningless and any attempt to change or rectify this, with the goal of establishing meaning, is futile. Despite the rich but often ambiguous philosophical and cultural history of existential nihilism, its impact on mental health and society remains largely unknown due to a gap in the scientific measurement literature. To address this gap, an 8-item scale measuring the proposed construct was rigorously developed and tested in accordance with psychometric theory and scale development guidelines. Two identical studies were conducted with an undergraduate sample (N = 329) and a community sample (N = 307) to evaluate the scale’s item quality, reliability, internal structure, convergent validity, concurrent validity, discriminant validity, and incremental validity. Evaluation of the Existential Nihilism Scale (ENS) provided evidence of strong psychometric properties. This new measure promises to contribute to future research examining the impact of existential nihilism on mental health, wellbeing, and social outcomes.
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The data supporting the findings of this article can be accessed on the data repository website Open Science Framework (osf.io) via the following view only link https://osf.io/ns9tf/?view_only=39e0f74c5afe4ac38f7a7c019303d653.
Notes
All online values presented are from April 2023.
Expert is defined as a thorough understanding of the conceptual definition of the proposed construct taught through seminar presentations and discussions.
With the exception of item 9 on the MLQ in Sample 2, which loaded onto the existential nihilism factor with a relatively low factor loading of -.320.
With the exception of item 9 on the MLQ, which loaded onto the existential nihilism factor with a relatively low factor loading of -.320.
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Appendix
Appendix
The Existential Nihilism Scale (ENS)
Instructions: Please read each of the following statements carefully and respond to each statement according to the 1–7 scale provided. While responding, be as truthful and accurate as you can and try not to let your response to one statement influence your responses to the other statements. Remember, these statements are very personal and subjective and there is no right or wrong answer.
Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Slightly Disagree | Neither Agree nor Disagree | Slightly Agree | Agree | Strongly Agree |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
1. Despite our best efforts, nothing truly matters.
2. All things considered, our lives are insignificant and pointless.
3. There is no such thing as a real purpose to life.
4. Existence is meaningless.
5. No matter how hard one looks, a real meaning to life can never be found.
6. Nothing can be done to give life real, lasting significance.
7. All human experience – from suffering to joy – is empty of meaning.
8. There is no point to life.
Scoring procedure:
Existential nihilism score = (Item 1 + Item 2 + Item 3 + Item 4 + Item 5 + Item 6 + Item 7 + Item 8) ÷ 8.
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Forsythe, J., Mongrain, M. The Existential Nihilism Scale (ENS): Theory, Development, and Psychometric Evaluation. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 45, 865–883 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-023-10052-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-023-10052-w