Self-complexity and its relation to development, symptomatology and self-perception during adolescence.

Self-complexity refers to the degree to which various aspects of self-concept are differentiated from each other. A new measure of self-complexity (the SCI) was administered to 182 adolescents. The SCI correlated positively with chronological age and global self-worth and was negatively related to internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Regression analyses indicated that the SCI was the best predictor of depression when holding global self-worth constant.