LE3 .A278 2023

2023

Price, Lisa

Acadia University

Bachelor of Arts

Honours

Psychology

Psychology

The present study validated a questionnaire designed to measure integrated sense of self or the experience of oneself as a stable, coherent whole. Various mental health disorders are associated with a non-integrated sense of self; however, the integrated self may develop to varying degrees even in non-clinical populations. Two-hundred forty adult participants from Canada and the U.S. completed the Integrated Sense of Self Questionnaire (ISSQ) in addition to measures of theoretically related and unrelated constructs. Theoretically related constructs included anxiety, depression, loneliness, adult attachment style, recollected caregiver sensitivity, resilience, and coping style. A measure of job satisfaction was used as a theoretically unrelated construct. The ISSQ had good internal consistency and a PCA revealed two-components. Six of the items formed the “Connected-Self” subscale and reflected an underlying theme of connection to self and others. The remaining six items formed the “Non-Self” subscale and reflected an underlying theme of feeling non-existent. Measures of theoretically related constructs correlated with the ISSQ in expected ways, supporting the convergent validity of the ISSQ. Discriminant validity was not supported. Future studies should examine the discriminant and predictive validity of the ISSQ and continue to develop and clarify the underlying theme of the Connected-Self subscale.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3977