The Self-Perception Profile for Children: further evidence for its factor structure, reliability, and validity

This article presents further evidence for the psychometric qualities of the Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC), a widely used questionnaire for assessing self-esteem in youths. The SPPC was administered to a large sample of Dutch school children (N = 1143) in order to study its factor structure, reliability (internal consistency and test-retest stability), and validity. Results showed that the hypothesized factor structure of the SPPC representing five specific domains of self-esteem (i.e. scholastic competence, social acceptance, athletic competence, physical appearance, and behavioral conduct) provided a reasonable fit for the data. Furthermore, the reliability of the scale appeared to be satisfactory with good internal consistency and test-retest stability. Finally, evidence was also obtained for the validity of the SPPC. More specifically, the scale correlated in a theoretically meaningful way with child-, parent-, and teacher-reports of psychopathology and personality. Altogether, the current findings confirm the notion that the SPPC is a reliable and valid self-report measure for assessing children's self-esteem. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.