This paper reviews the literature on self esteem / self concept measures for young children (aged 4-7 years). It evaluates previous reviews, as well as relevant measure validation papers. Apart from providing an overview of the field, the paper seeks to carry out a pragmatic function in directing researchers to appropriate instruments. There has been no substantial review looking specifically at measures for children, but previous reviews have highlighted that most measures lack psychometric soundness or a clear theoretical basis. In this review, six measures that met the basic inclusion criteria and possess additional qualities are considered in detail. Apart from expectation that measures should be psychometrically adequate, their efficacy depends upon the aspects of the self evaluation that are relevant to researchers. For this reason, some attention is given to the theoretical underpinnings of the available measures. Alternative and complementary methods of assessing self-concept are briefly considered. The strengths and limitations of currently available measures are outlined and some suggestions with regard to future developments are offered. The paper concludes that considerable progress has occurred since the field was previously reviewed, but that there remain a number of methodological and theoretical issues in measuring young children's self- concept that require further study.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:719009 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Pratt, R. |
| Publisher | University College London (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1445903/ |
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