Validation of the Differentiation of Self Inventory for Adolescents
The primary purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of the 46-item, self-report Differentiation of Self Inventory (DSI) for use with adolescents. The purpose was accomplished by administering the DSI, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Symptom Pattern Scale to a sample of 363 adolescents, aged 14 to 19, recruited from an urban high school in a mid-Atlantic city. The DSI full scale demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .84. According to the criteria used in this study, a six-factor structure, resulting from a maximum likelihood analysis with a varimax rotation, best represented the multidimensionality of the DSI in adolescents. Statistically significant relations between DSI scores and the theoretically relevant variables of chronic anxiety and symptom development supported construct validity of the DSI. Suggestions for use of the DSI in future research with adolescents is discussed.
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