مجله علوم روانشناختی (Feb 2017)
Development and validation of ego strength scale: A preliminary study
Abstract
Ego strength refers to a set of ego functions as one of the personality structures. Normal development process requires ego abilities in coping with id, superego and environmental demands and conflicts. Having a valid instrument is needed to measure these abilities. The aim of the present study was to develop and examine psychometric properties of the Ego Strength Scale (ESS) including construct validity, convergent and discriminant validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. Three hundred and twelve Iranian men and women (174 women, 138 men) participated in this study, voluntarily. All participants were asked to complete the ESS, the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-28), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and Positive and Negative Affect (PANAS). The design of the present study was developmental-practical. Analysis of the data involved exploratory factor analysis for construct validity, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for internal consistency, and test-retest for reliability. The results of exploratory factor analysis supported a five factor structure including Ego-control, Ego-resiliency, Mature Defense Mechanisms, Problem-focused Coping Strategies and Positive Emotional-focused Coping Strategies. The convergent and discriminant validity of the ESS were supported by an expected pattern of correlations between the scale and the measures of psychological well-being, psychological distress, difficulties in emotion regulation, and positive and negative affects. All correlation coefficients between the mean scores on the ESS and scores of the psychological well-being, psychological distress, difficulties in emotion regulation, and positive and negative affects were statistically significant. Coefficient alpha estimates of internal reliability were between 0.79 and 0.85 for the ESS subscales. Test-retest reliability of the ESS was also calculated at the range of 0.65-0.73 (p < 0.001). All correlations were statistically significant. It was concluded that the ESS can be considered as a reliable and valid scale to measure ego strength in Iranian samples.
