여성상담은 여성에게 내재한 강점을 중시하는 긍정적인 심리학의 대표적 모델이라고 할 수 있다. 본 연구에서는 여성상담의 긍정적 성과를 측정하는 임파워먼트(empowerment) 척도를 개발하고자 하였다. 이를 위하여 문헌 연구를 통해 70문항으로 이루어진 예비 임파워먼트 척도를 개발하였다. 330명의 여성들(여교사)을 대상으로 자료를 수집하여 요인분석한 결과 5가지 요인(총44 문항)이 추출되었으며, 각 요인은 여성성수용(8문항), 자기신뢰(12문항), 자기돌봄(8문항), 유능감(7문항), 자기주장(9문항)으로 명명되었다. 척도전체 신뢰도는 .92였고, 5개 요인의 신뢰도는 .77에서 .91이었다. 개발한 척도의 수렴 및 판별 타당도를 알아보기 위하여 289명의 여성들을 대상으로 교육정도에 따라 여성 임파워먼트 척도 득점에 차이가 있는 지를 밝혔고 임파워먼트 척도와 자기구성체 척도 및 우울척도간의 상관을 밝혔다. 그 결과 여성들의 학력이 높을수록, 전문직 여성일수록 임파워먼트 점수가 높은 것으로 나타났고, 자기구성체 척도와는 정적 상관을 보임으로써 수렴타당도가 입증되었으며 우울척도와는 부적 상관을 보임으로써 판별타당도가 입증되었다. 아울러 본 연구에서 개발한 척도의 이론적 함의와 활용방안에 대해서 논의하였다.

Feminist counseling is the representative model of positive psychology in that it emphasizes the strengths found in women. It targets a wide range of attitudes and behaviors in addition to the reduction of symptoms. Empowerment is a broad goal of feminist intervention that enables individuals to exert influence over the personal, interpersonal factors. But there are few measures to examine the positive outcomes of empowerment. It is necessary to identify its components and then to develop measures to assess them. The purpose of this study was to develop the Personal Empowerment Scale for women(PESW), measuring positive outcomes of counseling for women. This study took two steps. First, the PESW consisting of 70 items was developed based on literatures and administered to samples of 330 female teachers. Factor analysis showed the evidence of construct validity of the scale. Five correlated factors were extracted from the factor analysis, factor 1(8 items) implying the femininity acceptance` , factor 2(12 items) implying self-confidence` , factor 3(8 items) implying self-nurturance` factor 4(7 items) implying perceived competence` , factor 5(9 items) implying self-assertiveness` . The PESW total score demonstrated excellent internal reliability( .=92) and 5 factors demonstrated acceptable reliability(.77-.91). Second, to verify the convergent validity and discriminant validity of the developed scale, the questinnaire consisted of PESW, Self-Construal scale(SCS), Beck Depression Scale(BDI), and survey sheet collecting demographic information of age, employment status, current occupation and educational level was administered to samples of 289 women. The PPSW total and factor scores positively and significantly correlated with SCS. Additionally, women with highest educational level(i.e. graduated from university or more) scored significantly higher than women with lower educational level on PPSW total score and four of the five factors. And women with professional occupation(i.e. teachers) scored significantly higher than women with other occupation and unemployed women on PPSW total and five factors. Thus PPSW demonstrated satisfactory convergent validity. And PPSW total and factor scores demonstrated satisfactory discriminant validity, as it negatively and significantly correlated with BDI. Finally, implications of the findings were discussed.