Self-Concept Metadimensions and Occupational Behavior in Young Adulthood: A Content Analysis of Longitudinal Data.

To explore the independence, reliability, and validity of metadimensional measures, 112 boys were interviewed at the 9th and 12th grade levels to obtain self-concept data for an analysis of nine structural, self-concept metadimensions, and other characteristics of self-referent material. Self-referent sentences, defined as those indicative of positive or negative evaluations, were written on cards for later analysis. Using rating scales, judges evaluated the sentences to obtain assessments of the metadimensions of clarity, self-esteem, and abstraction. The metadimension assessments were correlated with intelligence and other characteristics assessed at both the 9th and 12th grades, as well as with 40 indices of occupational and other behavior obtained when the subjects were about 25 years of age. Of the nine measures, six (clarity, self-esteem, abstraction, harmony, stability, idiosyncrasy) appeared relatively independent. The relationships between the 9th grade metadimensions and those derived from the 12th grade protocols were low, with a Pearson's r below .30 in all but one instance -- Scope, where the r was .37. (Included in the appendix are: the characteristics at the 9th and 12th grades, description of the variables used, the procedure for grouping self-references having similar meaning, and a bibliography) (author/nl)