Bryant Self-Concept Scale (BSCS)

Abstract

The Bryant Self Concept Survey (BSCS) is a specialized Psychological Scale developed by Janis L. Bryant in 1979. This instrument was specifically created to assess the construct of Self-Concept in adults categorized as developmentally disabled. Consisting of 30 items, the BSCS utilizes a simple dichotomous (True/False) response format to maximize accessibility and minimize cognitive load for the target population.

The scale employs a multidimensional framework, dividing self-concept into three primary, equally weighted domains: the Social Self, the Physical Self, and the Family Self. This structure allows for a nuanced assessment of how individuals perceive themselves across different critical life areas.

Keywords

Bryant Self Concept Survey, BSCS, Self-Concept, Developmental disability, Social self, Physical self, Family self, Psychological assessment, Janis L. Bryant.

Authors

Janis L. Bryant.

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the BSCS is to provide a standardized, reliable, and accessible measure of self-concept tailored specifically for the population of developmentally disabled adults. Before the BSCS, many instruments designed to measure self-concept were often too complex in language or required nuanced rating scales that were difficult for individuals with certain cognitive limitations to interpret reliably.

By employing simple language and a straightforward True/False response format, the BSCS aimed to achieve greater ecological validity and utility within clinical and research settings focused on this unique population. The scale provides crucial insights into an individual’s self-perception, which is foundational for effective therapeutic intervention and program planning.

Construct

The BSCS measures the psychological construct of Self-Concept. This construct refers to the totality of a person’s thoughts and feelings about themselves. The BSCS emphasizes the multidimensional nature of self-concept, asserting that a global score is insufficient for understanding personal well-being, especially in vulnerable populations. The 30 items are systematically organized into three distinct subscales, each comprising 10 items:

• Social Self: This domain assesses the individual’s perception of their interpersonal competence, popularity, ability to communicate, and overall acceptance within their peer group and wider social circle.
• Physical Self: This domain focuses on body image, feelings about one’s physical appearance, perceived health status, and physical appeal.
• Family Self: This domain measures feelings of belonging, perceived trust, support, and overall satisfaction with one’s role and relationships within the immediate family unit.

Validity

The initial development of the BSCS, documented in the 1979 Master’s thesis, centered on establishing strong foundational psychometric properties. Efforts were made to ensure high content validity by deriving items directly from observations and interviews relevant to the daily experiences and self-perceptions of developmentally disabled adults. This process ensures that the scale items adequately sample the behavioral universe of the self-concept construct within this specific population.

Furthermore, construct validity was supported by the theoretical expectation that the items would group into the three proposed factors (Social, Physical, and Family Self). Validation studies often employ comparisons against established measures of self-esteem or known-groups validation to confirm the scale measures what it intends to measure accurately.

Reliability

Reliability refers to the consistency of the measurement provided by the scale. Standard psychometric properties, typically reported in the original thesis, would include measures of internal consistency, such as Cronbach’s alpha, for the total scale score and for each of the three subscales. Given the dichotomous response format (True/False), reliability analyses may also employ Kuder-Richardson (KR-20) formulas to assess homogeneity.

Demonstrating high internal consistency is essential to confirm that the 10 items within each specific domain, such as the Physical Self, are consistently measuring the same underlying facet of self-concept.

Factor Analysis

The clear structural division of the BSCS into three subscales indicates that rigorous Factor Analysis was utilized during the development phase. This statistical technique was necessary to empirically confirm that the 30 items segregated into the theoretically distinct clusters of Social Self, Physical Self, and Family Self, rather than collapsing into a single, undifferentiated global self-concept factor.

The results of the Factor Analysis guided the final selection and assignment of items, ensuring that each subscale is a robust and independent measure of its intended dimension, thus supporting the scale’s multidimensional interpretability.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-Report Psychological Scale

Format: 30 items, Dichotomous response choice (True or False)

Language Available: English (Original development language)

Population Group: Adults

Age Group: Adult population (Primarily targeting those capable of understanding simple True/False statements)

Population Details: Specifically designed for developmentally disabled adults, characterized by cognitive limitations that necessitate simple, concrete item phrasing and response options.

Test Methodology: Respondents are presented with 30 declarative statements about themselves. They must indicate whether the statement is “True” or “False” regarding their own feelings or behavior. Scoring is standardized, with certain items being reverse-scored to control for acquiescence bias.

Keywords

Bryant Self Concept Survey, BSCS, Self-Concept, Social self, Physical self, Family self, Psychometrics, Scale development, True/False format.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The BSCS was initially published in 1979 as part of Janis L. Bryant’s Master’s thesis at California State University, Northridge. As an academic instrument, it is generally considered available for non-commercial research and clinical use, provided proper attribution is given.

The original PDF of the thesis, titled “A Self-Concept Scale for the developmentally Disabled Adult,” which contains the full instrument and development details, can be downloaded here: http://scholarworks.csun.edu/bitstream/handle/10211.3/123721/BryantJanis1979.pdf?sequence=1

Reference’s

Bryant, Janis L. (1979). A Self-Concept Scale for the developmentally Disabled Adult. M.S. Thesis, California State University, Northridge.

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Items of the Bryant Self Concept Survey (BSCS)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. I am a friendly person
2. I like my looks the way they are.
3. My friends trust me.
4. I try to look nice around others.
5. I am too fat or too skinny.
6. I have a family that would help me in any kind of trouble.
7. I am not a calm and easy going person.
8. I enjoy ha‎ving others think I am sexy.
9. I can always take care of myself in any situation.
10. I am not a popular person.
11. I do not like to look into mirrors.
12. I argue a lot with my family.
13. I try to understand the other person’s side of the story.
14. I am not a healthy person.
15. I am satisfied with the way I treat others.
16. When I’m criticized‚ I feel bad for days.
17. I really like ha‎ving sex.
18. I am not loved by my family.
19. I do not always tell my friends the truth.
20. I would like to change the looks of certain parts my body.
21. I often go along with my family when I’d really not like to.
22. I tell others my likes and dislikes.
23. I like myself.
24. I am a member of a happy family.
25. I feel that if I behaved like I want to‚ others wouldn’t like me.
26. I feel others are attracted to me.
27. I do not act as my family expects me to.
28. I find it hard to say “no” to friends.
29. I care about myself.
30. I feel my family doesn’t trust me.

The items are scored across the three subscales as follows:

• Social Self: Items 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, and 28.
• Physical Self: Items 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, and 29.
• Family Self: Items 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, and 30.