Sense of authenticity, self-esteem, and subjective and psychological well-being

Abstract

Sense of authenticity (SOA) refers to one's sense of being true to one's core self. The purposes of the present study were to develop a Sense of Authenticity Scale (SOAS) and to investigate the effect of sense of authenticity on subjective and psychological well-being. The items for the Scale were developed in a pilot study. Undergraduate students (N = 335) completed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, as well as the Sense of Authenticity Scale. The reliability and validity of the Sense of Authenticity Scale were verified through scale analysis. Also, scales on topics such as depression, trait anxiety, and satisfaction with life were administered as indicators of subjective well-being, and others on concepts such as personal growth, autonomy, purpose in life, and positive relations with others, as indicators of psychological well-being. The results from a covariance structure analysis showed that both sense of authenticity and self-esteem affected almost all the kinds of subjective well-being that were measured, whereas only the sense of authenticity affected most of the kinds of psychological well-being that were measured. In particular, sense of authenticity was associated with increased autonomy, whereas self-esteem was associated with decreased autonomy.