ERIC Number: EJ992003
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Dec
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1040-3590
EISSN: N/A
Construction of a Self-Complexity Scale for Adolescents
Martins, Ana; Calheiros, Maria Manuela
Psychological Assessment, v24 n4 p973-982 Dec 2012
The goal of this article was to develop and validate a self-complexity scale for adolescents. Therefore, 4 empirical studies were developed. In Study 1, a content analysis of attributes used in school books was conducted. This analysis was complemented in Study 2 with an exploratory study of adolescent's self-descriptions in an open-ended questionnaire (N = 67). From this, a set of 42 attributes were identified. In Study 3, attributes' relevance and valence was evaluated by 109 adolescents, and a final set of 32 attributes was identified for the new scale. In Study 4, the Self-Complexity Scale for Adolescents (SCSA) was administered to a sample of 174 adolescents (aged 12-16), and SCSA structure, psychometric properties and correlation with self-esteem, as well as age and gender differences were analyzed. The research findings suggest that SC is a bidimensional construct and that SCSA is a reliable instrument. Furthermore, negative correlations were found between total and negative SC and self-esteem scores (convergent validity). Age differences were found in negative SC scores, with adolescents aged 14-16 exhibiting higher scores than 12- to 14-year-olds. (Contains 4 tables and 1 footnote.)
Descriptors: Test Construction, Test Validity, Adolescents, Student Attitudes, Measures (Individuals), Age Differences, Self Esteem, Content Analysis, Psychometrics, Gender Differences, Questionnaires, Correlation, Foreign Countries, Grade 6, Grade 7, Grade 8, Textbooks, Language Arts, Student Characteristics
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 6; Grade 7; Grade 8
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Portugal
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A