Evaluation of the internal structure of the Schadenfreude severity scale: A Factor analytic study

Schadenfreude is an emotion experienced by enjoying other's misfortunes. This study aimed to evaluate the factorial structure of the Persian version of the Schadenfreude severity scale, which is designed to measure people's enjoyment of the misfortune of others in different situations.

This is a descriptive /analytical study conducted on 336 students (169 males and 167 females) of Tabriz University through convenience sampling. Subjects completed the Schadenfreude severity scale questionnaire. Data were analyzed through exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis using SPSS 24 and LISREL 8.80 software.

Factor analysis identified a five-factor structure for the Iranian population. The five discovered factors were named Wealthiness, Love affair, Competitiveness, Beauty, and Ability. Besides, the results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the five-factor structure well fitted the data.

Findings suggest that the Persian version of the Schadenfreude severity scale is an appropriate tool to measure the severity of Schadenfreude caused by enjoying other's misfortunes, so, it can be used in clinical diagnosis and therapies and also evaluation of social and interpersonal behaviors. However, further research should be carried out in this field in different communities and groups.