Development and validation of a scale on sense of suffering: The "Humanizar" Scale

Background. There are studies on the causes and sense of suffering, but not a measuring instrument for clinical and research use that eliminates the subjectivity of the evaluator. The aim of this article is to analyse the meaning that people give to suffering and its underlying factors by developing a measuring scale. Methods. Descriptive and correlational study for scale validation. Following a review of the literature, a list of items was developed that were subjected to a validity analysis: content through judges, criterion through external variable contrast, and construct using exploratory factor analysis. Reliability using Cronbach alpha coefficient. Results. The questionnaire was answered by 253 people, 83% (207) women and 17% (42) men, average age 41.37 years. The 24 item scale offered a Cronbach alpha of 0.871. Seven dimensions were obtained that explained 62.42% of total variance. Five factors were named Transcendence (26.367% of the variance), Punishment (9.929%), Catalyst of change (6.498%), Masochism (5.691%) and Inherent to life (5.254%). Except the last one, all the subscales obtained an alpha superior to 0.67. No gender differences were found, although they were found depending on the existence or absence of religious beliefs. Conclusions. The "Humanizar" Scale is a valid and reliable scale with a coherent structure of five factors. It collects the meaning that a person gives to suffering, leaving open the possibility of exploration depending on populations and on whether or not there are religious beliefs.