The Development and Validation of the Stoic Attitudes and Behaviours Scale

Abstract

Background: The Stoic Attitudes and Behaviours Scale (SABS) was developed to measure Stoicism as a life philosophy. In contrast, previous scales purporting to assess Stoicism have typically relied on a colloquial understanding of ‘stoic’—a concept distinct from philosophical Stoicism and often linked to poorer health outcomes. Methods: Philosophy and psychotherapy experts iteratively developed five versions of SABS, identifying six core Stoic dimensions. The final 60-item version was completed by over 8000 participants across 116 countries. Subsamples also completed validated measures of life satisfaction, flourishing, affect balance, and emotional functioning. Results: Exploratory graph analysis and confirmatory factor analysis supported a seven-factor, 40-item solution with good internal consistency. Factors reflected Stoic dimensions including beliefs about happiness, virtue, benevolence and compassion, and ethical development. SABS scores were positively correlated with flourishing, resilience, and positive affect, and negatively correlated with anger and negative emotions. Conclusions: The SABS is the first validated instrument to assess philosophical Stoicism, clearly distinguishing it from colloquial ‘stoicism’. While Stoicism is associated with well-being and emotional balance, colloquial ‘stoicism’ correlates with poorer outcomes. Further research should examine the SABS in clinical and general population samples.