Validity and reliability of a pictorial scale of physical self-concept in spanish children

Abstract

The pictorial scale of Physical Self-Concept in Children (P-PSC-C) is a relatively new instrument for investigating physical self-concept in childhood. The current study aims to examine the validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the P-PSC-C, and also to analyse the validity according to the children's age. A sample of 365 primary school age (M = 9.21, SD = 1.92) students participated; divided in two groups, those aged 9 or younger and those 10-11 years old. Surveys were used to assess perceived physical concept individually. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with diagonally weighted least square estimator specifically designed for ordinal data and a scaled test statistic was conducted. Ordinal alpha using a polychoric correlation matrix and Kendall's T were used to analyse reliability and correlation between items, respectively. The results of the CFA showed a one-dimensional excellent fit for the whole sample. According to the age groups, the CFA revealed that the item assessing flexibility had a low factor loading for older children (λ = .11). Weak invariance was shown for gender. Item statistics and reliability values were otherwise good. This study shows a high potential for the pictorial scale to be suitable for the given age groups in measuring physical self-concept.