2024 Volume 35 Issue 3 Pages 107-121
This study developed the Japanese version of the Self-concept and Identity Measure (SCIM-J). After the translation of SCIM into Japanese, we conducted two Internet surveys, involving 400 university students and 600 adults. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the factor structure of the SCIM-J was the same as that of the original version, that is, consolidated identity, disturbed identity, and lack of identity. Multi-group analysis confirmed gender equality. Internal consistency and the test-retest reliability of the SCIM-J items were both good. The SCIM-J subscales exhibited good validity for the processes and products of identity, identity disorder, depression, difficulty in emotion regulation, borderline personality traits, and self-injurious tendencies. The results revealed the adaptive aspect of consolidated identity and the maladaptive aspect of lack of identity. Disturbed identity was associated with adaptive and maladaptive indicators, suggesting that it can measure identity crisis in healthy development. The results confirmed the validity and reliability of the SCIM-J as a scale for measuring the psychopathological aspects of identity problems in adults.
【Research Impact】
SCIM-J forms a new identity scale that is created in accordance with the alternative DSM-5 model for personality disorders and can be used to assess clinical identity problems. The validity and reliability of the SCIM-J were confirmed, thus indicating the possibility of using the SCIM-J for a simple assessment of the impact of identity problems on mental health in adults, which has not been of much importance in the past.
