The structure of the Social Self-Concept (SSC) Questionnaire

This study aims to analyze the factorial structure of the newly-created Cuestionario de Autoconcepto Social - AUSO (from here on the Social Self-concept Questionnaire, or AUSO), which consists of two scales measuring social responsibility and social competence. The theoretical proposal which posits that social self-concept is the result of the combination of two basic self-perceptions: competence in social relations and response to the demands of social functioning, is based on a review of human social development theories and previous attempts to measure social self-concept. Participants were 818 students aged between 17 and 52. The results obtained though confirmatory factor analyses support the hypothesis of a structure made up of two correlated factors. In addition to providing a new measurement instrument with appropriate psychometric characteristics and valid criteria that justify its use in both applied practice and research, this study also enhances our understanding of the internal nature of the social domain of self-concept.