A child self-report exemplar: adapting administration procedures of the self-perception profile for children to reduce measurement error.

Abstract

Child self-reports can provide unique information to researchers. When the 2-step structured format of a frequently used self-concept measure resulted in unusable data during a pilot of inner-city school children, the framework of attention and executive control was used to analyze the task and adapt administration format. A card system was substituted for the paper format and Cronbach's alphas calculated on data obtained from 233 3rd-6th graders. Complete data; alphas ranged from .58 (social competence) to .75 (behavioral conduct). The use of cards to facilitate choices effectively reduced error by removing one option from view prior to completing second step. Two competence subscales (social and athletic) had alphas less than .70 suggesting further exploration with this population.