Adolescents’ Self-concept Short Scale: A Version of PHCSCS

Abstract

Problem Statement: The adolescents’ self-concept has remained as a powerful issue in educational context. The lack of assessment instruments, especially in shorted version and with studied psychometric characteristics, has constituted a problem. Purpose of Study: This study presents the construction of “Adolescents’ Self-concept Short Scale” (ASCSS), using the Portuguese adaptation (Veiga & Domingues, 2012) of the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale (Piers & Hertzberg, 2002). Research Methods: The study involved 440 adolescent students. The dichotomous responses (yes/no) of the original 60 items PHCSCS version has been changed to 1-6 responses (completely disagree - completely agree). The psychometric qualities, internal consistency and the external validity were analyzed. Factorial analyses carried out highlighted six factors — behaviour, anxiety, intellectual status, popularity, physical appearance, and happiness —, each having 5 items. The analysis allowed to find a short scale with 30 items that, exceeding the percentage of variance explained in total versions, has best levels of reliability. In the study of external validity, the results in the “Adolescents’ Self-concept Short Scale” appeared significantly related to the academic achievement. Findings: The results allowed to find that this short scale presents psychometric qualities and can be used in research and psychoeducational practice, to assess the multidimensional adolescents’ self-concept. Conclusions: The future use of the “Adolescents’ Self-concept Short Scale” is considered and proposed. This scale may be a useful opportunity for psychologists, teachers and other education professionals. Recommendations: to deepen the study of multidimensionality of adolescents’ self-concept and extend the external validity can constitute important fields of research.