title: A short form of the Autonomy Scale: properties of the Autonomy-Connectedness Scale (ACS-30).
abstract: The Autonomy Scale (Bekker, 1993) measures individual differences in gender-linked autonomy, a psychological condition resulting from the process of individuation and separation. The theoretical background of the concept is found in a combination of feminist, neoanalytical object relations theory and attachment theory. The 3 subscales are Self-Awareness, Sensitivity to Others, and Capacity for Managing New Situations. We report the development and properties of the Autonomy-Connectedness Scale (ACS-30), a shortened 30-item version of the Autonomy Scale. We present 2 studies. In the first study, we examined the structure of the scale as well as its validity and reliability. The second study was aimed at further validation by relating the ACS-30 to various indexes of psychopathology. Exploratory as well as confirmatory factor analyses provided support for a 3-factor structure that was identical to that of the original scale. The ACS-30 showed good internal consistency reliability and an expected pattern of convergent validity with personality and mental health variables. The psychometric properties of the ACS-30 suggest it can be used to assess gender-linked autonomy. It also has the advantage of being more economical and simple as compared with the original 50-item version.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Health, Tilburg University, The Netherlands. m.h.bekker@uvt.nl
authors.forename: Marrie H J
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Bekker
authors.forename: Marcel A L M
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: van Assen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010552:Personality Assessment; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D011599:Psychopathology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires