Pictorial Scale of Physical Self-Concept for Younger Children (P-PSC-C): A Feasibility Study

Abstract

Children’s self-perception of motor skills and physical fitness is said to be an important mediator between skills and physical fitness on the one hand and physical activity on the other hand. An age-appropriate self-perception scale is needed to understand the development and the differentiation of the physical self-concept of children and its components. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (1) to develop a pictorial scale of physical fitness for pre-school children (3–6 years old), and (2) to describe the face validity and feasibility of the scale. The study sample included 27 kindergarten children. In order to determine the psychometric properties, validity was assessed by administrating the Pictorial Scale for Physical Self-Concept in Kindergarten Children (P-PSC-C) compared with children’s fundamental movement skill competency (Test of Gross Motor Development [TGMD]-3; six locomotor and seven object-control skills), height, weight, and demographics. The face validity was favorable. Expectable negatively skewed response distributions were found in all items. Medium correlations with related constructs and with sport enjoyment were found. The results indicate that the new scale is usable for kindergarten children. Future validation studies are needed so that the new scale can contribute to the research about physical self-concept development in kindergarten children.