Psychometric Analyses of New Measures of False-Self Defense

Abstract

Abstract. The concept of the false-self defense has been widely used in psychoanalytic and psychodynamic literature, both in understanding processes of childhood development and in outlining personality defense mechanisms. This study presents a translation of this theoretical and clinical concept into empirical economical self-report scales assessing Self-Relatedness (16 items) and Environment-Directedness (14 items). The scales’ content judgment and psychometric analyses were carried out in three successive studies based on separate samples ( N = 226, 208, 176). The scales demonstrate good to excellent internal reliability and are normally distributed in a sample of university students. Results of Study 2 support the scales’ convergent, discriminant, and criterion construct validity. Study 3, comparing deaf and hard-of-hearing (d/hoh) students with controls, provides a partial support for the scales’ criterion group validity. The findings demonstrate the scales’ potential contribution to psychodynamically oriented research, as well as to research enriched by critical sociocultural perspectives.