Shame and guilt in Arab populations: validation of PFQ-2 and the mediating role of psychological distress

Shame and guilt are critical self-conscious emotions that influence psychological well-being. The Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 (PFQ-2) is a widely used to assess these emotions, yet its psychometric properties within Arab populations remain underexplored. Additionally, psychological distress may mediate the relationships between resilience, religiosity, and emotional outcomes. This study examined the psychometric properties of the PFQ-2 among Libyan and Emirati Arab populations to assess shame and guilt. A total of 281 participants from Libya and the UAE completed self-report measures of shame and guilt (PFQ-2), resilience (Brief Resilience Scale), religiosity (Muslim Religiosity Scale), and psychological distress (DASS-8). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported a two-factor structure (χ2 (76) = 101, p = 0.028, CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.059), with the exclusion of two low-performing items “Disgusting to others” and “Laughable” improving model fit. Internal consistency was satisfactory for both shame (α = 0.80, ω = 0.80) and guilt (α = 0.84, ω = 0.85). Structural equation modeling indicated that psychological distress significantly mediated the negative associations between resilience and shame (β = −0.09, p = 0.004), and between extrinsic religiosity and shame (β = −0.06, p = 0.016). Gender and cultural differences emerged, with females reporting higher guilt than males (Mean Difference = 1.84, p = 0.041), and Libyan participants exhibiting higher levels of guilt (Mean Difference = 2.18, p = 0.016) and shame (Mean Difference = 2.76, p = 0.012) compared to Emirati participants. Post-hoc analysis revealed that Libyan females reported significantly higher guilt than UAE males (Mean Difference = 4.03, p = 0.039), whereas gender differences in shame were nonsignificant (F (1,28) = 0.008, p = 0.93). The findings underscore the importance of culturally sensitive assessments and highlight psychological distress as a key factor in understanding resilience and religiosity in emotional well-being.