Reconceptualizing the Private Self-Consciousness Subscale

Three studies, part of a larger investigation of the effects of self-help groups, examined the structure of the private self-consciousness scale (Fenigstein, Scheier, & Buss, 1975). Two of these studies sampled children of alcoholics enrolled in an urban university and one sampled participants in a substance abuse treatment program. Factor analyses and correlational patterns across the three studies revealed that the private self-consciousness measure is composed of two orthogonal subscales, suggesting that the continued use of the entire 10-item private self-consciousness measure is inappropriate.