SELF-CONCEPTS OF YOUNG-CHILDREN 5 TO 8 YEARS OF AGE - MEASUREMENT AND MULTIDIMENSIONAL STRUCTURE

A new, adaptive procedure for assessing multiple dimensions of self-concept for children younger than 8 years and related theoretical issues were examined. For older children the multidimensional, hierarchical structure of self-concept is now well established. For younger children, however, a paucity of research and appropriate instruments has led to the belief that self-concept is poorly differentiated and that a general self-concept may not even exist. In individual interviews, 501 students in kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade completed the Self Description Questionnaire I (SDQ-I). At each grade level, confirmatory factor analyses identified all 8 SDQ-I scales, including General self-concept. With increasing age the fit of the 8-factor model improved, the size of correlations among the factors decreased, and self-concept became more differentiated. Appropriately measured self-concepts are better differentiated by young children than previously assumed.