TY - JOUR
T1 - Self-connection and well-being
T2 - Development and validation of a self-connection scale
AU - Klussman, Kristine
AU - Nichols, Austin Lee
AU - Curtin, Nicola
AU - Langer, Julia
AU - Orehek, Edward
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. European Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2022/2
Y1 - 2022/2
N2 - Self-connection is defined as an (1) awareness of oneself, (2) acceptance of oneself based on this awareness, and (3) alignment of one's behavior with this awareness. Although some promising results suggest that self-connection uniquely contributes to well-being, they have relied on an untested, single-item measure. To advance empirical examination of self-connection and its role in well-being, the current research developed and validated a 12-item Self-Connection Scale (SCS). We recruited a total of 1,469 participants across three studies to examine the SCS and its three underlying components. Using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, we found evidence supporting the factor structure and inter-item reliability as well as evidence of construct, concurrent, and incremental validity. Importantly, results from three studies suggest that the SCS is associated with multiple important indicators of health and well-being. The scale also demonstrated incremental validity beyond mindfulness, authenticity, self-concept clarity, self-compassion, and self-acceptance in its association with various mental health and well-being indicators. Thus, the SCS provides a valuable tool to measure and examine self-connection and its relationship to well-being and other important psychological outcomes.
AB - Self-connection is defined as an (1) awareness of oneself, (2) acceptance of oneself based on this awareness, and (3) alignment of one's behavior with this awareness. Although some promising results suggest that self-connection uniquely contributes to well-being, they have relied on an untested, single-item measure. To advance empirical examination of self-connection and its role in well-being, the current research developed and validated a 12-item Self-Connection Scale (SCS). We recruited a total of 1,469 participants across three studies to examine the SCS and its three underlying components. Using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, we found evidence supporting the factor structure and inter-item reliability as well as evidence of construct, concurrent, and incremental validity. Importantly, results from three studies suggest that the SCS is associated with multiple important indicators of health and well-being. The scale also demonstrated incremental validity beyond mindfulness, authenticity, self-concept clarity, self-compassion, and self-acceptance in its association with various mental health and well-being indicators. Thus, the SCS provides a valuable tool to measure and examine self-connection and its relationship to well-being and other important psychological outcomes.
KW - mental health
KW - self-acceptance
KW - self-alignment
KW - self-awareness
KW - self-connection
KW - well-being
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85129161160&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/ejsp.2812
DO - 10.1002/ejsp.2812
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85129161160
SN - 0046-2772
VL - 52
SP - 18
EP - 45
JO - European Journal of Social Psychology
JF - European Journal of Social Psychology
IS - 1
ER -