The direct and stress-buffering effects of self-organization on psychological adjustment

Research on self-organization and psychological adjustment has produced equivocal results. Mixed findings may result from the shortcomings of common self-organization constructs-self-complexity, self-concept consistency, and self-concept clarity. The present investigation examined the intercorrelations among self-organization indices, as well as the association between these indices and psychological adjustment using cross-sectional and prospective designs. The results of Study 1 Suggest that self-complexity is two-dimensional, capturing both differentiation and integration. However, the traditional self-complexity measure does not accurately assess these dimensions. Self-concept consistency and self-concept clarity both appear to capture integration. However, their associations with adjustment may be misleading. Results of Study 2 suggest that dimensional measures of self-complexity may provide a more valid test of Linville's (1987) stress-buffering hypothesis. Our findings most strongly supported Linville's assertion that having less overlap among self-aspects protects the self from depression following stressful life events. Implications for the measurement and conceptualization of these self-organization constructs are considered.