A contribution to the construct validity of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale: A confirmatory factor analysis

Abstract

Non-statistical confirmatory factor analyses of the items on the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS) were performed on samples of 678 university students and 341 male juvenile offenders to test hypotheses regarding the internal structure of the instrument. For the college sample, good confirmation of the external and internal frames of reference postulated by Fitts (1965) were obtained, but support for the internal x external cross-classification was not obtained. No support for any of the hypotheses was found for the juvenile sample; rather, one major factor emerged. These findings are related to Super’s theory of self-concept development, and implications of these findings regarding the psychometric properties of the TSCS and its use are discussed.