Abstract
Multiple sources of evidence suggest that problematic social anxiety should be related to attempts to hide aspects of the self from others, but no specific measures are available to assess this phenomenon. A self-report measure, the Core Extrusion Schema measure (CES) was developed to measure aspects of self-concealment that should be related to social anxiety, including perceived present rejection, belief that one’s true self would be socially rejected, attempts to hide one’s true self, and attempts to avoid scrutiny. In two studies with undergraduates (ns = 383 and 79), the CES was found to have good psychometric properties and relate to social anxiety as predicted. Some evidence of relation to interpersonal dysfunction above and beyond social anxiety was also observed. The CES therefore offers one avenue to assess a potential core cognitive component of impairing social anxiety, as well as the interpersonal effects of such anxiety.
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Notes
I present all the potential items because the items that failed to load cleanly on their respective factors may be informative for future research.
The preliminary subscales of the SRCS were also tested in the current sample and achieved very good fit in a CFA model, whereas the originally proposed subscales (in which three attractiveness items cross-load onto both rank and fit factors) had marginal to poor fit.
Details regarding factor loadings for the EFAs, as well as fit for CFA models implemented based on the EFAs, are available from the author. They are omitted here because: (a) only the four-factor EFA showed indications of acceptable fit and (b) CFA models based on the other EFA solutions failed to achieve the same level of fit as the model described in full here.
A shorter version of the measure, including only the Hidden Self and Rejection of True Self subscales, as well as pilot items designed to load on these scales, is available from the author.
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Rodebaugh, T.L. Hiding the Self and Social Anxiety: The Core Extrusion Schema Measure. Cogn Ther Res 33, 90–109 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-007-9143-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-007-9143-0