For results from large-scale surveys to inform policy and practice appropriately, all participants must interpret and respond to items similarly. While organizers of surveys assessing student ...outcomes often ensure this for achievement measures, doing so for psychological questionnaires is also critical. We demonstrate this by examining the dimensionality of reading self-concept—a crucial psychological construct for several outcomes—across reading achievement levels. We use Programme for International Student Assessment 2018 data (N = 529,966) and local structural equation models (LSEMs) to do so. Results reveal that reading self-concept dimensions (assessed through reading competence and difficulty) vary across reading achievement levels. Students with low reading achievement show differentiated responses to the two item sets (high competence–high difficulty). In contrast, students with high reading achievement have reconciled responses (high competence–low difficulty). Our results highlight the value of LSEMs in examining factor structure generalizability of constructs in large-scale surveys and call for greater cognitive testing during item development.
•First study examining self-structure in persecutory delusions using the card sort task.•First study examining whether mindfulness changes self-structure in any clinical group.•Self-structure ...differed between people with persecutory delusions and healthy controls.•There was no association between self-structure and delusion symptom severity.•Mindfulness therapy changed self-structure with medium-large effect sizes.
There is currently limited research examining self-structure in clinical groups and no current data on the extent to which self-structure is amendable to change following psychological therapy. We address this important gap by examining self-structure in individuals with persecutory delusions using the card sort task, an established paradigm measuring key self-structure indices, including the degree to which self-structure is compartmentalized (characterized by primarily positive or negative attributes, as opposed to a mix of both), and the proportion and importance of negative attributes.
In Study 1, individuals with a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis with current persecutory delusions (clinical group, n = 27) and a healthy control group (n = 47) were compared on self-structure indices. In Study 2 (n = 27), the clinical group also completed the card sort task before and after randomization to either a 12-week mindfulness-based psychological therapy or treatment-as-usual control.
In Study 1, self-structure differed significantly between the clinical and control groups. The clinical group had a greater proportion of negative attributes, assigned more importance to negative self-aspects, and had more compartmentalized self-structures compared with controls. In Study 2 there were no associations between delusion severity and self-structure. Large effect sizes for reductions in compartmentalization and proportion of negative attributes across self-aspects were found following mindfulness therapy. The findings highlight key differences in self-structure between individuals with persecutory delusions and healthy controls, and suggest that it might be possible to change self-structure following psychological therapy. These data support the central role of the self in theoretical models of paranoid thinking.
Attitudes serve multiple functions, some related to the self-concept. We call attitudes that help people define who they are “self-defining.” Across four studies, we tested a brief self-report ...measure of the extent to which an attitude is self-defining. Studies 1 and 2 showed that self-defining attitudes tend to be extreme, positive, and unambivalent. Studies 3 and 4 produced two main findings. First, self-definition was related to, but not redundant with, a number of other characteristics of the attitude (e.g., attitude certainty). Second, self-definition predicted participants’ intentions to spontaneously advocate and, in Study 4, their reactions to an opportunity to advocate behaviorally (i.e., writing about their attitude in an optional response box) following a self-threat. Overall, the results highlight the utility of this approach and, more broadly, demonstrate the value of considering the role of the self in attitudinal processes, and vice versa.
In this article, the authors develop the
self-concern and other-orientation as moderators
hypothesis. The authors argue that many theories on work behavior assume humans to be either self-interested ...or to be social in nature with strong other-orientation but that this assumption is empirically invalid and may lead to overly narrow models of work behavior. The authors instead propose that self-concern and other-orientation are independent. The authors also propose that job performance, prosocial behavior, and personal initiative are a function of (a) individual-level attributes, such as job characteristics when employees are high in self-concern, and (b) group-level attributes, such as justice climate when employees are high in other-orientation. Three studies involving 4 samples of employees from a variety of organizations support these propositions. Implications are discussed for theory on work behavior and interventions geared toward job enrichment and team-based working.
In general, experiential purchases have been found to make people happier than material purchases. However, previous research has ignored a crucial issue—the importance of the brand and the ...consumer−brand relationship in this context. Since many purchases are associated with a brand and the brand is often the main motivation for the purchase, we argue that researchers should include the consumer−brand relationship in studies on the effects of material versus experiential consumption on happiness. Building on the social exchange theory, the current research examines the moderating role of consumers' tendency to include brands as part of the self in the relationship between purchase type and happiness. Across three studies, using different methods (a comparative survey: N1 = 422 individuals; two experiments: N2 = 206 and N3 = 177 individuals), we found that individuals with high levels of brand engagement in self‐concept (BESC) derive similar levels of purchase‐related happiness from experiential and material purchases, while individuals with low levels of BESC find more purchase‐related happiness in experiential than in material purchases.
A job may contribute to overall life satisfaction (LS) when it meets basic psychological needs. This study examined aspects of one's work (organizational commitment, citizenship behavior and ...autonomy), and individual differences in self-concept (collective versus individual), as predictors of overall LS. 295 employees working at a variety of jobs completed questionnaires online. Results showed that higher collective self-concept predicted greater LS; this was partially mediated by affective job commitment, work autonomy and altruistic citizenship behaviors, all of which also independently predicted greater LS. Higher individual self-concept was also a significant predictor of LS, partially mediated by compliance citizenship behaviors. These results suggest that when work fulfills a need for connectedness (i.e., for people with a collective self-concept), autonomy, and when we feel emotionally committed to our job, and go beyond what it requires, our overall LS is higher. These results clarify some positive ways that our work contributes to overall LS, but important questions remain for future research.
Aim
To summarize existing evidence regarding body image in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, with the following considerations: (a) the perceptions patients have of their body changes; (b) ...how patients cope with changes in their body; (c) and what their perceptions are of body changes.
Method
A systematic review of literature integrating quantitative and qualitative studies. We searched databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, SCOPUS, the Web of Science, Medline, Medline Complete, and Academic Search Premier) and publications from 2010 to 2020 with “Systemic Lupus Erythematosus” AND “Self‐Concept” OR “Body Image” AND “Woman” as medical subheading terms. The studies included were subjected to a thematic content analysis, which allowed subjective interpretation of data through a systematic classification process for coding themes or patterns.
Results
We identified 647 studies, of which 22 were analyzed in this study. Our results indicate that changes in the body image of people with lupus and their perception are issues that must be treated as characteristics of the disease; therefore, they need to receive the same attention as is given to physical disabilities and pain. The analysis identified 3 thematic categories: (a) depression and anxiety associated with body changes (hair loss, weight gain); (b) body image reflecting the disease; and (c) confrontations and interventions to promote acceptance and adaptation to the new image.
Conclusions
The dimensions of self‐concept and body image are essential for assessing the quality of life of individuals with lupus. The formation of a adjusted self‐concept can be managed by health professionals supporting these people.
School-aged children enter an essential phase of psychosocial development in which they begin to form their self-concept. Having a negative self-concept has a direct relationship on the gradual ...evolution of a child's personality which can influence academic and career success, peer interactions and relationships, generativity and life satisfaction and meaning. There is limited research examining self-concept in children with congenital upper limb differences.
Describe self-concept in school-aged children with congenital upper limb differences (CULD).
In this convergent mixed methods study, we used the Piers Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale (PHCSCS) and modified photovoice methodology to explore self-concept in school aged children with CULD. The quantitative results from the PHCSCS were merged with the qualitative findings from the 63 photographs and 63 written descriptions provided by nine children.
Mean self-concept was 51.22 (±10.43). Mean domain scores: behavioral adjustment 52 (±8.19), freedom from anxiety 48.56 (±10.42), happiness and satisfaction 49.44 (±10.73), intellectual and school status 54.78 (±10.31), and social acceptance 49.89 (±8.64). Nine participants described five themes of self-concept: emotions, sense of accomplishments, positive view of oneself and one's physical body, hobbies, and a sense of connection. Children defined their self-concept through expressions of self-efficacy, self-image, and social identity.
Results created a more comprehensive description of self-concept, and expanded understanding of the social identity of school-aged children with congenital upper limb difference. Future research is needed to examine the relationships between self-efficacy, self-image, and social identity to develop interventions promoting healthy self-concept development.
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