Replication of the Self-Concept and Identity Measure (SCIM) Among a Treatment-Seeking Sample

ABSTRACT

Identity distress occurs within a variety of psychiatric conditions. Reliable tools for assessing identity-related functioning among clinical populations are greatly needed. The Self-Concept and Identity Measure (SCIM) is a brief self-report scale designed to assess healthy and disturbed identity dimensions. This measure has been validated within normative but not treatment-seeking samples. The present study used an a priori confirmatory approach to replicate the SCIM’s factor structure among disadvantaged women enrolled in treatment for chemical dependence (N = 216). The original three-factor structure and item loadings generally replicated within this diagnostically diverse, significantly impaired sample. Higher SCIM scores were also associated with other problems, such as emotion dysregulation and depression. Results support the SCIM’s use and scoring with clinical populations.

KEYWORDS:

• Identity disturbance
• psychopathology
• emotion dysregulation
• substance use disorders
• chemical dependence
• assessment
• factor analysis

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the research participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Ethical approval

This article meets the guidelines for ethical conduct and report of research. This study was approved by the University of Washington’s Institutional Review Board.

Informed consent

All participants provided informed consent.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health under grant number R01 DA033324. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.