False Self Scale – Relationship with God

Abstract

The False Self Scale-Relationship with God is an adapted psychological instrument designed by Sippola, Buchanan, and Kehoe (2007) to measure relationship-specific authenticity and inauthenticity tendencies within an individual’s spiritual context. Specifically, this scale assesses the degree to which a person feels they must present a False Self or act inauthentically when interacting with or contemplating their relationship with God. The original items were modified from a measure used in adolescent romantic relationships to shift the focus to the dynamics of the spiritual relationship, allowing researchers to study self-presentation and congruence in a theological domain.

The instrument consists of seven items utilizing a five-point Likert response format. It captures feelings of self-concealment, acting a certain way to please God, and the perceived discrepancy between the individual’s True Self and the self presented in their spiritual life.

Keywords

False Self, Authenticity, Spirituality, Relationship with God, Inauthenticity, Psychological assessment, Sippola, Buchanan, Kehoe, Psychology, Spiritual congruence.

Authors

L. K. Sippola, C. M. Buchanan, S. Kehoe

Purpose

The primary purpose of the scale is to quantitatively assess the extent of false self presentation within the context of an individual’s spiritual life, specifically concerning their relationship with the divine (God). It aims to capture the perceived discrepancy between one’s true self and the self presented in the spiritual domain. This adaptation allows researchers to explore how feelings of obligation, guilt, or fear of rejection might lead to inauthentic spiritual behavior or self-concealment.

The scale is instrumental in research focusing on the intersection of developmental psychology and religious experience, providing a measure of spiritual congruence. By adapting the content from a generalized relationship context to a theological one, the authors created a tool sensitive to relational dynamics even when one party (God) is non-corporeal.

Construct

The core construct measured is Relationship-Specific Authenticity/Inauthenticity, applied specifically to the spiritual domain. The concept of the False Self, often rooted in psychodynamic theory, posits that an individual develops a defensive facade to meet external demands, thereby concealing the True Self. In this spiritual context, a high score on the inauthenticity items suggests that the respondent feels compelled to act in a certain way, or withhold parts of their identity, in order to gain acceptance or approval from God.

The items target feelings of being different, having to act, or being unable to reveal certain aspects of the self, which are hallmark indicators of presenting a False Self. Conversely, the inclusion of one item related to feeling loved for “who I am” serves as a potential inverse indicator of spiritual authenticity, helping to frame the overall relationship dynamic.

Validity

Specific details regarding the psychometric validation of the False Self Scale-Relationship with God adaptation (Sippola, Buchanan, & Kehoe, 2007) are not explicitly provided in the available source entry. However, as an adapted measure, its validity is inherently linked to the original scale’s validity concerning the measurement of false self in relational contexts. Researchers utilizing this instrument would typically establish appropriate construct validity by correlating scores with established measures of religious coping, attachment to God, or general psychological well-being to ensure the scale accurately reflects the theoretical construct of spiritual inauthenticity.

Reliability

Information regarding the internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha) or test-retest reliability specifically for the seven-item adaptation focusing on the relationship with God is absent from the provided documentation. Reliable measures are crucial for ensuring that the scale consistently captures the underlying construct. Given the brevity of the scale (seven items), researchers must carefully examine its internal consistency, particularly when used with diverse spiritual populations, to ensure the items cohere into a single, reliable measure of the spiritual False Self.

Factor Analysis

The factor structure of the False Self Scale-Relationship with God is not detailed in the source material. Given its development through adaptation, it likely retains a primary factor structure mirroring the original False Self scale, focusing on a single dimension of inauthenticity/authenticity in the specified relationship context. A typical factor analysis of this adapted scale would confirm whether the seven items load onto a single, coherent factor representing the spiritual False Self construct, potentially requiring reverse scoring for the positively worded item (Item 6) to maintain unidimensionality.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Psychological rating scale (Adapted)

Format: Five-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree).

Language Available: English (as presented in the source material)

Population Group: Individuals engaged in spiritual or religious relationships (originally adapted from research focused on adolescents)

Age Group: Typically used with late adolescent or adult populations capable of complex self-reflection.

Population Details: The original scale focused on adolescent romantic relationships, suggesting the adaptation is suitable for populations mature enough to reflect on complex relational and spiritual dynamics. The instructions require respondents to reflect on their general relationship with God.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with each statement based specifically on their general experiences in their relationship with God, using the provided numerical scale.

Keywords

Spiritual assessment, Relational authenticity, Self-concealment, Religious experience, Adolescent psychology, Measurement adaptation, Spiritual congruence, Inauthenticity.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in the source documentation.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in the source documentation.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in the source documentation.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was published in 2007 as an adaptation by Sippola, Buchanan, & Kehoe. The instructions and item content were adapted with permission from the copyright holder, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, based on the original publication in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Researchers are advised to contact the original journal publisher or authors for definitive copyright and usage guidelines.

Test Year: 2007 (Year of adaptation and publication noted).

Reference’s

The primary reference for the adaptation of this scale is:

• Sippola, L. K., Buchanan, C. M., & Kehoe, S. (2007). Correlates of False Self in Adolescent Romantic Relationships. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36(4), 515-521. Copyright 2007 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Adapted with permission.

The original PDF containing the scale instructions and items, referenced in the source content, can be downloaded here: http://www.acu.edu/academics/cas/psychology/documents/beck/Attachment%20to%20God.pdf

Items of the False Self Scale-Relationship with God

Instructions: Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each of the statements listed below. Answer each item based on your experiences in relationship with God. We are interested in how you generally experience your relationship with God, not just in what is happening in that relationship currently.

Response Scale:

• 1= Strongly disagree.
• 2= Somewhat disagree.
• 3= Neither agree nor disagree.
• 4= Somewhat Agree.
• 5= Strongly Agree.

Scale Items:

1. It is harder to be myself when I am interacting with God than when I am not.
2. I feel I have to act a certain way to please God.
3. I feel like I am a different person when I am interacting with God.
4. In order for God to like mc, I cannot reveal certain things about myself to him.
5. I don’t really act like my true self when I am interacting with God.
6. God loves and appreciates mc for who I am.
7. I feel that God doesn’t know the “true” me.