[Measurement of self-concept in older persons with the Frankfurt Self-concept Scales]

The Frankfurt Self-Concept Scales--FSKN--were constructed for juveniles and young adults (Deusinger, 1982). The research under consideration here investigates the problem: can the Frankfurt Self-Concept Scales--FSKN--adequately determine the self-concepts of older persons, too? A renewed item analysis and scalogram analysis was determined with a sample of 142 older subjects. It can be concluded from the results of these analyses that the method measures self-concepts of older persons at least on the level of quasi-scales. Various investigations on the re-test-reliability produced satisfactory results. Correlation studies are demonstrated as first investigations to validate the test. The hypothesis that the Frankfurt Self-Concept Scales--FSKN--can adequately determine self-concepts of older people too, cannot be falsificated but rather substantiated by the results available so far. The Frankfurt Self-Concept Scales present an instrument to which for example item and scalogram analyses and investigations on reliability and validity have already been made with different methods for various age-groups: this is in contrast to the items usually used in connection with the Q-Sort-Method to determine self-concepts, items for which there are often no item--or reliability--analyses available. The availability of an instrument for the determination of differentiated self-concepts of various age-groups opens up important research possibilities.