General Self-Concept Scale for Chinese Adults – Chinese Version

Description

Self-concept refers to an individual’s perception and evaluation of themselves. Researchers have proposed definitions of self-concept that share common elements: First, self-concept is an individual’s comprehensive understanding of their physical and mental attributes, which has a certain degree of stability. Second, self-concept is formed through interpersonal communication and social interaction in daily life. Individuals gradually establish their self-concept based on summarizing their own experiences and understanding others’ evaluations and reactions. Social interaction and sociocultural factors play a regulating and directional role in the formation and development of self-concept. Parents, teachers, and peers are the people who are closest to individuals in daily life, and they constantly influence the individual’s self-awareness and self-evaluation. As people age and enter different stages of life, each stage presents specific self-development tasks, thus self-concept continues to change and update along with the progression of life stages.

According to the multi-level and multi-dimensional structure model of self-concept (Shavelson et al., 1976), self-concept can be divided into general self-concept and specific self-concepts across different domains. Numerous studies have shown that specific self-concept is mainly related to an individual’s achievements and efficacy in specific areas (Bandalos, 1995; 柴瑞琴, 吉哲民, 2009), while general self-concept is closely related to individuals’ mental health (姚信, 2003).

For instance, research by McCullough, Huebner, and Laughlin (2000) indicated that the level of an individual’s general self-concept significantly predicts their positive emotions and life satisfaction levels. Xu Hailing’s study (2007) also pointed out that the clarity of an individual’s overall self-concept is significantly positively correlated with their self-esteem level and has a buffering effect on stress. Research both domestically and internationally has demonstrated the significant role of self-concept in predicting specific achievements and regulating mental health (Bandalos, 1995; Harter, 1985; 樊富珉, 付吉元, 2001), hence the relevance of self-concept-related research has remained a focus for researchers. Although research on self-concept has a long history, there has been considerable controversy among researchers regarding its structure (刘凤娥, 黄希庭, 2001), and corresponding measurement tools have emerged endlessly. Currently, researchers mostly agree that self-concept is a multidimensional, multi-level, organized structure.

Taking the multi-level multi-dimensional self-concept structure model proposed by Shavelson et al. (1976) as an example, general self-concept is at the top level and can be subdivided into academic self-concept and non-academic self-concept; academic and non-academic self-concepts can further be divided into more specific behavioral domains, which are at the bottom level of the self-concept structure and form the basis of the overall self-concept.

In 2012, Fang Xiaoyi et al. compiled the General Self-Concept Scale for Chinese Adults, which measures general self-concept from four aspects: content, structure, accompanying emotional experiences, and functions. The scale consists of 43 items, comprising four sub-scales: positivity, clarity, acceptance, and regulation. The Cronbach’s α coefficients for positivity, clarity, acceptance, regulation, and the overall scale were 0.872, 0.867, 0.810, 0.879, and 0.942, respectively. To avoid response biases, the order of items across different dimensions and positive/negative scoring questions was randomly arranged.

Authors and Contact Email

Information not available

Purpose

Information not available

Test Year

Information not available

Administration Method and Scoring

The scale uses a 4-point scoring system, from 1 “almost completely disagree” to 4 “almost completely agree,” where 23 items require reverse scoring. Scores are summed across sub-scale items, with higher scores indicating higher positivity/clarity/acceptance/regulation. The total self-concept score is obtained by summing scores from each dimension, with higher scores representing a better general self-concept and higher levels of psychological well-being.

Reliability and Validity

Information not available

Factors and Subscales

– 积极性 (Positivity)
– 清晰性 (Clarity)
– 悦纳性 (Acceptance)
– 调节性 (Regulation)

Keywords

Self-concept, psychological health, personal development

Items in Chinese

1. 我对自己持否定态度。
2. 我讨厌自己不够完美。
3. 有时候我会怀疑我并不是自己所认为的那种人。
4. 我总担心别人会不喜欢我。
5. 我能找到办法让自己变得更好。
6. 虽然别人没说什么，但我知道他们都看不起我。
7. 我感到我有许多好的品质。
8. 我讨厌自己现在的状况。
9. 我相信自己能够取得成功。
10. 我时常对自己现在的样子感到不高兴。
11. 尽管我存在一些不足，但我会努力发挥自己的优势。
12. 我因自己的诸多缺点而看不起自己。
13. 我不清楚自己到底是一个怎样的人。
14. 我不清楚自己到底适合做什么职业。
15. 我相信自身的不足可以通过某些途径改善。
16. 尽管我在某些方面比别人差，但我相信作出改变是可能的。
17. 我对自己的看法摇摆不定。
18. 总体面言，我对自己的现状感到满意。
19. 我感到自已是个有价值的人。
20. 当我想到自己有不足时，我仍有办法使自己保持比较积极的状态。
21. 我相信天生我才必有用。
22. 我认为自己有能力应对绝大部分问题。
23. 面对自身不足，我会积极努力去改变。
24. 我能主动想办法改变自己身上那些不如意的地方。
25. 我不知道自己擅长什么。
26. 我很难对自己作出清晰的描述。
27. 我对自己的能力充满怀疑。
28. 我很难喜欢自己现在的样子。
29. 面对自己的不足，我会努力采取一些措施来弥补。
30. 我相信即使努力了，也难以改变自身的不足。
31. 虽然我不擅长一些事情，但我相信自己有其他方面的优势。
32. 我为自己的缺点感到羞愧。
33. 受到批评时，我仍然可以想到自身积极的方面。
34. 我相信我能处理好一些不可预料的事情。
35. 我经常对自己有着很矛盾的看法。
36. 我需要通过他人对我的评价来判断我是怎样的一个人。
37. 我会找到办法改变自己对自身的消极看法。
38. 我对自己的认识是混乱的。
39. 我羞于让别人深入地了解我。
40. 我经常为自己的不足而苦恼，却很少为此作出改变。
41. 我不清楚我哪些方面是需要改善的。
42. 我对自己的前途有把握。
43. 我对自己有信心。

Items in English

1. I hold a negative attitude toward myself.
2. I hate that I am not perfect.
3. Sometimes I doubt that I am the person I think I am.
4. I am always worried others won’t like me.
5. I can find ways to make myself better.
6. Even though others haven’t said anything, I know they all look down on me.
7. I feel I have many good qualities.
8. I hate my current situation.
9. I believe I can achieve success.
10. I often feel unhappy with who I am now.
11. Although I have some deficiencies, I will strive to leverage my strengths.
12. I look down on myself because of my many shortcomings.
13. I am unclear about what kind of person I really am.
14. I am unclear about what profession I am suited for.
15. I believe my shortcomings can be improved in some ways.
16. Although I am lacking in some areas compared to others, I believe change is possible.
17. My views about myself fluctuate.
18. Overall, I am satisfied with my current situation.
19. I feel that I am a valuable person.
20. When I think about my shortcomings, I still have ways to maintain a relatively positive state.
21. I believe I must have some talent inherent to me.
22. I think I have the ability to deal with most problems.
23. When facing my shortcomings, I will actively strive to change.
24. I can proactively find ways to change what I don’t like about myself.
25. I don’t know what I’m good at.
26. I find it difficult to provide a clear description of myself.
27. I have doubts about my abilities.
28. I find it hard to like who I am now.
29. When facing my shortcomings, I will strive to take measures to compensate.
30. I believe that even with effort, it will be difficult to change my shortcomings.
31. Although I am not good at some things, I believe I have strengths in other areas.
32. I feel ashamed of my shortcomings.
33. Even when criticized, I can still think of my positive aspects.
34. I believe I can handle unforeseen circumstances well.
35. I often have conflicting views about myself.
36. I need to rely on others’ evaluations of me to judge what kind of person I am.
37. I will find ways to change my negative views about myself.
38. My understanding of myself is chaotic.
39. I am shy to let others get to know me deeply.
40. I often feel troubled by my shortcomings, but I rarely make changes for it.
41. I am unclear about which areas need improvement.
42. I am confident about my future.
43. I have confidence in myself.

References

Shavelson, R. J., Hubner, J. J., & Stanton, G. C. (1976).
Bandalos, D. L. (1995).
McCullough, M. E., Huebner, E. S., & Laughlin, J. E. (2000).
Xu, H. L. (2007).
Harter, S. (1985).
Fang, F. M., & Fu, J. Y. (2001).
Liu, F. E., & Huang, X. T. (2001).