Testing a Multidimensional Factor Structure of the Self-Control Scale.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• The Self-Control Scale (SCS) is widely used in clinical, personality, and social psychology.
• Existing research often assumes a unidimensional structure for the SCS, lacking empirical support.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the factor structure of the Self-Control Scale (SCS).
• To examine the construct validity of SCS factors by correlating them with related and distinct psychological constructs.

Main Methods:

• Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on two samples: undergraduate students and a community sample.
• Factors were correlated with theoretically related and distinct constructs to assess convergent and discriminant validity.
• Analyses included both the full 36-item SCS and the 13-item Brief Self-Control Scale.

Main Results:

• The best-fitting factor structure comprised multiple, correlated factors, but none met pre-specified fit criteria.
• Additional analyses identified a two-factor solution for the Brief Self-Control Scale that demonstrated reasonable fit.
• Factor correlations provided insights into the (dis)similarities between the identified factors and other constructs.

Conclusions:

• The findings suggest that the Self-Control Scale is not unidimensional.
• A two-factor structure is supported for the Brief Self-Control Scale, providing a more accurate representation of self-control.
• The study highlights the importance of rigorous factor analysis and lessons learned from a Registered Report approach.