Feelings of Inferiority: A First Attempt to Define the Construct Empirically

Inferiority feelings have been linked theoretically to substance use; however, an empirical definition of the construct is lacking in research. The purpose of this study was to examine the adequacy in defining inferiority feelings using the empirically established constructs of self-esteem, general self-efficacy (GSE), abstinence self-efficacy (ASE), and shame using a sample of 210 undergraduate college students. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the overall model provided good fit for the data; however, self-esteem and shame loaded more strongly on the latent construct than did GSE and ASE. The results provide preliminary evidence for using these constructs to define inferiority feelings; however, future research is necessary to examine alternate constructs that may define inferiority feelings in other populations.