Table 3 Exploratory factors extracted from 19 items of the Persian version of the psychological emptiness scale (n = 200)

Factor 1: (%Variance = 48.20, Eigenvalue = 9.15)

4

Felt that you are nothing

0.50

0.72

1.10

0.7

0.841

0.647

10

Had neither desires nor motivations

0.63

0.82

1.10

0.29

0.808

0.654

17

Felt that you had nothing to offer the world, that you are worthless

0.46

0.67

1.38

1.40

0.771

0.697

12

Felt that you had no impact on others

0.70

0.75

0.91

0.46

0.652

0.554

18

Lacked a sense of direction in life

0.78

0.75

0.67

− 0.02

0.648

0.562

13

Felt that you are just a burden to other people

0.48

0.68

1.21

0.57

0.642

0.537

11

Felt incapable of doing anything right

0.66

0.74

0.94

0.48

0.634

0.587

8

Felt that you are just going through the motions

0.93

0.70

0.45

0.16

0.572

0.512

Factor 2: (%Variance = 6.32, Eigenvalue = 1.20)

2

Felt indifferent to anything that goes on around you

0.88

0.76

0.49

− 0.33

0.823

0.585

1

Felt unable to feel emotions (e.g., joy, happiness, anger, sadness)

0.55

0.69

1.23

1.57

0.752

0.511

6

Felt emotionally numb

0.68

0.71

0.72

− 0.05

0.621

0.618

7

Felt that positive things such as love or joy do not stick to you, that they just pass through you

0.65

0.79

1.07

0.53

0.614

0.470

3

Felt that anything that you might do is pointless

0.70

0.67

0.65

0.19

0.561

0.593

5

Felt empty inside (e.g., feeling like an “empty shell”)

0.64

0.73

0.99

0.66

0.530

0.635

9

Had a sense of an inner void that cannot be filled

0.77

0.83

0.97

0.42

0.520

0.576

Factor 3: (%Variance = 5.68, Eigenvalue = 1.08)

16

Felt that between you and the outside world there is some sort of barrier (e.g., a fog, a veil, a chasm or gulf)

0.45

0.65

1.36

1.53

0.833

0.683

14

Feeling somehow detached from reality, that you are not fully part of the world

0.46

0.70

1.57

2.24

0.801

0.712

15

Felt that you just ‘exist’, but are not really ‘alive’

0.54

0.75

1.27

0.92

0.750

0.673

19

Were disengaged, and not really caring about anything

0.67

0.77

0.99

0.37

0.568

0.634