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Feelings of Inadequacy Scale

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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

Definition

Feelings of inadequacy refers to the concept of decreased self-esteem, more precisely the absence of self-confidence in a variety of life situations. Self-esteem is an indispensable human need for normal and healthy development and a basic emotion about one’s overall sense of self-worth or personal value in a specific social context. The concept is commonly assessed using the Revised Janis and Field’s Feelings of Inadequacy Scale (JFS), which consists of 36 items (4 items with reversed scoring) measured on a 5-point Likert scale (some researchers have used 7 points). The JFS is not a diagnostic tool and is used for research purposes only.

Introduction

The Feelings of Inadequacy Scale (JFS) was initially developed by Janis and Field (1959) as a 23-item self-reported measure of self-esteem to be used in attitude change research. All 23-items (including two reversed scored items) are measured on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (“very often”) to 5 (“practically never”)...

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Correspondence to Daniel Boduszek .

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Boduszek, D., Debowska, A. (2020). Feelings of Inadequacy Scale. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24612-3_31

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