FROM SELF-KNOWLEDGE TO SELF-CONCEPT: REVIEW ON CONSTRUCTS AND INSTRUMENTS FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS ¹

ABSTRACT.

This study aimed to identify the material available in the literature about the self-knowledge and to find instruments to assess this construct aimed at the audience of children and adolescents, based on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. As a method, a literature review was performed in the PubMed, PsycINFO, Lilacs and Scielo databases. During the choice of descriptors, there was an overlap between the concepts self-knowledge and self-concept. From this, both concepts were treated as synonyms, adopting the term self-concept to refer to the two concepts. The search resulted in 11 articles that met the selection criteria. The studies were published from 2008 to 2018, with varied objectives, ranging from health problems to psychic symptoms and disorders in childhood and/or adolescence; self-concept was shown to be related to greater well-being and quality of life. In addition, seven instruments were found to assess self-concept in childhood and/or adolescence, two of which were adapted to the Brazilian population. In conclusion, there are still few studies in the literature on this subject, as well as a lack of instruments to assess it in the Brazilian population of children and adolescents. Thus, this study confirmed that self-knowledge is a complex and multidimensional construct and the need for further studies in the area.

Keywords:
Self-knowledge; children and youth self-concept scale; literature review