The sense of self is a fundamental construct in the study of the mind, yet its psychological nature remains elusive. We introduce a novel 25-item inventory to investigate selfhood both as an enduring trait and a temporary state. We hypothesized two foundational aspects of the self: identity (related to self-referencing and continuity over time) and agency (the perception of controlling own's actions and thoughts). Results from two population studies highlight a singular self-trait factor combining agency and identity. In contrast, self-state measures revealed a bifactorial structure with a high-order factor and three lower-order subfactors: state-identity, state-agency, and state-technology. These factors were predictive of psychosis-like experiences, schizotypal traits, and hopelessness. Mediation analysis demonstrated that the negative association between the sense of self and hopelessness is mediated by depressive manifestations. Our research provides a tool to shed new light on the complexity of the sense of self and its mental health implications.

自我意识是心灵研究的一个基本概念，但其心理本质仍然难以捉摸。我们引入了一个新颖的 25 项清单来研究自我作为一种持久的特质和一种暂时的状态。我们假设了自我的两个基本方面：身份（与自我参照和随时间的连续性相关）和代理（控制自己的行为和思想的感知）。两项人口研究的结果强调了结合代理和身份的单一自我特质因素。相比之下，自我国家措施揭示了一个双因素结构，具有一个高阶因素和三个低阶​​子因素：国家身份、国家代理和国家技术。这些因素可以预测类似精神病的经历、精神分裂特征和绝望。中介分析表明，自我感与绝望之间的负相关是由抑郁表现介导的。我们的研究提供了一种工具，可以为了解自我意识的复杂性及其心理健康影响提供新的视角。