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The perception of false self scale for adolescents: Reliability, validity, and longitudinal relationships with depressive and anxious symptoms
Author(s) -
Weir Kirsty F.,
Jose Paul E.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
british journal of developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 2044-835X
pISSN - 0261-510X
DOI - 10.1348/026151009x423052
Subject(s) - psychology , scale (ratio) , convergent validity , perception , anxiety , psychometrics , developmental psychology , reciprocal , test validity , reliability (semiconductor) , depressive symptoms , clinical psychology , psychiatry , internal consistency , linguistics , philosophy , physics , power (physics) , quantum mechanics , neuroscience
A scale assessing generalized false self‐perceptions (Perceptions of False Self, POFS) was developed and tested across three studies involving a total of 331 adolescents (11–16 years). In Study 1, interviews were conducted to develop items for the scale. In Study 2, psychometric techniques were used to derive a scale composed of 16 items. Study 2 also assessed the validity of the scale: depressive symptoms were found to increase POFS across 10 weeks, whereas false self‐perceptions had a reciprocal effect on anxiety. In Study 3, the convergent validity of the POFS scale was established. Overall, the evidence suggests that the POFS scale is a reliable and valid measure of generalized false self‐perceptions.