Sustaining fantasies and self-concept among college students

Examined the relationship among 10 different types of sustaining fantasies, which make individuals feel better during stressful and/or disappointing times, and two measures of poor self-concept, self-derogation and instability of self-concept. One hundred twenty-four college student Ss, 48 males and 76 females, responded to the Sustaining Fantasy Questionnaire of Zelin et al., Kaplan's Self-Derogation Scale, and Rosenberg's Instability of Self Scale. Canonical correlation, bivariate correlations, and correlations with social desirability partialled out were examined to assess the hypothesis that poor self-concept relates to a pattern of sustaining fantasies similar to that of acute psychiatric inpatients and non-hospitalized individuals who show evidence of psychological problems. Results were consistent with the hypothesis.