The Existential Nihilism Scale (ENS): Theory, Development, and Psychometric Evaluation

Existential nihilism is a worldview characterized by a rejection of the existence of meaning in life and a belief in the futility of trying to ameliorate this absence. Despite the rich philosophical and cultural history of existential nihilism, its impact on mental health and society remains largely unknown due to a gap in the measurement literature. To address this gap, an 8-item scale measuring the proposed construct was developed and tested in accordance with psychometric theory and scale development guidelines. Two identical studies were conducted within an undergraduate sample (N = 329) and a community sample (N = 307) to evaluate the scales item quality, reliability, internal structure, convergent validity, concurrent validity, divergent validity, and incremental validity. Evaluation of the Existential Nihilism Scale (ENS) provided evidence of strong psychometric properties. This measure promises to contribute to research examining the impact of existential nihilism on mental health, wellbeing, and social outcomes.