A Reassessment of the Self-Perception Profile for Children: Factor Structure, Reliability, and Convergent Validity of a French Version among Second through Sixth Grade Children

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the factor structure, reliability, and convergent validity of a French version of the Self-Perception Profile for Children among primary schoolchildren. The study was conducted during the spring term and entailed group administration of a French version of Harter's Self-Perception Profile for Children to 466 second grade, 350 third grade, 274 fourth grade children, and 247 sixth grade children. Teacher evaluations, individual sociometric interviews, and collective administration of a peer assessment measure were also collected but for second, third, and fourth grade samples only. The factor structure was evaluated by means of the confirmatory factor analytic procedure. The convergent validity of each subscale was tested by correlating self-assessment scores with teachers' and peers' assessments on similar dimensions for each age group. The results generally supported the five factor solution for all age groups (similar to the English version) although the magnitudes of the phi estimates indicated a substantial lack of self-concept differentiation among second and third grade children. The internal consistency values also indicated that each dimension could be reliably measured at each age level. Significant convergent validity was evidenced for all dimensions with the exception of physical appearance.