WORK SELF-CONCEPT - THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SCALE

This research focused on the development of a scale that measures "work self-concept". Work self-concept is proposed as a multidimensional construct that is part of global self-concept. Based on information obtained from interviews in the initial study, a 72-item Work Self-Concept Scale (WSCS) was developed, identifying five logical dimensions of work self-concept. During the initial validation study, the WSCS was administered to 156 college students along with the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale (TSCS). Using coefficient alpha, the WSCS was found to reliable at .92. Correlations between the total raw scores on the TSCS and raw scores on the WSCS were significant (r = .68, p < .01). An exploratory principal component factor analysis performed on the 72 items yielded five empirical factors on the WSCS. Items were eliminated that did not significantly load on a factor, reducing the WSCS to a 45-item scale. In a final study, a factor analysis was conducted on the revised WSCS (45-item scale) that was administered to 494 subjects. This study resulted in a shorter scale that is reliable and is composed of empirical, factor-analytically-derived subscales (alpha coefficient = .92).