Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS)
A 13-item self-report measure of trait (dispositional) self-control — the ability to override or change inner responses and to interrupt undesired behavioral tendencies. Respondents rate how much each statement reflects them on a 1–5 scale. Higher scores indicate greater self-control. There are no formal clinical cutoffs; scores are interpreted descriptively.
At a glance
What it measures
The Brief Self-Control Scale (Tangney, Baumeister, & Boone, 2004) is a 13-item self-report of trait self-control — the capacity to override or change inner responses and to interrupt undesired behavioral tendencies. Respondents rate how much each statement reflects how they typically are.
In the source article, higher self-control scores predicted better adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success — the pattern announced in its title. The scale is free for research and clinical use with attribution.
Example item
“I am good at resisting temptation.”
Illustrative only. During administration items are presented one screen-set at a time; response-key direction is never shown to respondents.
Scoring & interpretation
Item responses are summed within each scale (reverse-keyed items recoded first) and expressed as a population percentile against the cited reference sample, with a reliability-based confidence range where α is published.
Psychometrics & norms
| Scale | M | SD | N | α | Metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trait Self-Control | 3.41 | 0.76 | 500 | 0.89 | per-item mean |
Galla, B. M., & Duckworth, A. L. (2015). More than resisting temptation: Beneficial habits mediate the relationship between self-control and positive life outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109(3), 508–525, Study 1 (open access, PMC4731333) — N = 500 U.S. adults (MTurk), verbatim 13-item Brief Self-Control Scale (Tangney, Baumeister & Boone, 2004). Reference values are per-item means on the 1–5 response scale (M = 3.41, SD = 0.76, α = .89). The confidence range uses the standard error of measurement (SEM = SD·√(1−α)) from the published α.
Source & citation
Tangney, J. P., Baumeister, R. F., & Boone, A. L. (2004). High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. Journal of Personality, 72(2), 271–324.
Brief Self-Control Scale (Tangney, J. P., Baumeister, R. F., & Boone, A. L., 2004), Journal of Personality, 72(2), 271–324. Free for research and clinical use with attribution.
References
- Tangney, J. P., Baumeister, R. F., & Boone, A. L. (2004). High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. Journal of Personality, 72(2), 271–324.