Having a weak versus strong sense of self: The sense of self scale (SOSS)

Clinicians have identified the need for a measure of the strength of sense of self (e.g., Gunderson, 1984 Gunderson, J. G. 1984. Borderline personality disorder, Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press. [Google Scholar]). This article reports on the development and initial validation of such a measure—the Sense of Self Scale (SOSS). Three studies involving a total of over 1200 undergraduate college students were conducted to evaluate the reliability and validity of the SOSS. Results indicate a unidimensional factor structure, a high degree of internal consistency and test – retest reliability, excellent convergent validity, and strong predictive and discriminant validity with respect to a checklist measure of self-expressive behaviors and experiences. Although these preliminary psychometric results are quite promising, further studies are needed to establish the scale's ability to predict theory-relevant observable behaviors, its ability to discriminate between a clinical and a normal population, and its sensitivity to treatment response.