The structure of the Social Self-Concept (SSC) Questionnaire

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the factorial structure of the newly-created Coestionario de Autoconcepto Social - AUSO (from here on the Social Self-concept Questionnaire, or AUSO), which consists of two scales measuring social responsibility and social competence. The theoretical proposal which posits that social self-concept is the result of the combination of two basic self-perceptions: competence in social relations and response to the demands of social functioning, is based on a review of human social development theories and previous attempts to measure social self-concept. Participants were 818 students aged between 17 and 52. The results obtained though confirmatory factor analyses support the hypothesis of a structure made up of two correlated factors. In addition to providing a new measurement instrument with appropriate psychometric characteristics and valid criteria that justify its use in both applied:practice and research, this study also enhances our understanding of the internal nature of the social domain of self-concept.