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.     

Worry in children is related to perceived parental rearing and attachment

In a sample of 159 primary school children, the relationship between perceived parental rearing behaviours and self-reported attachment style, on the one hand, and worry, on the other hand, was investigated. Children completed (a) the EMBU, a questionnaire measuring perceptions of parental rearing behaviours, (b) a single-item measure of attachment style, and (c) the Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children (PSWQ-C), an index of severity of worrying. Results showed that parental rearing behaviours, in particular rejection and anxious rearing, were positively associated with worry. Thus, children who perceived their parents as more rejective and anxious reported higher levels of worry. Furthermore, self-reported attachment style appeared to be related to worry. More specifically, children who classified themselves as avoidantly or ambivalently attached displayed higher levels of worry than did children who classified themselves as securely attached. These findings are consistent with the notion that family environment factors such as parental rearing and attachment style contribute to the severity of anxiety symptoms in children.     

Psychometric properties of the Big Five Questionnaire for Children (BFQ-C) in a Dutch sample of young adolescents

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Big Five Questionnaire for Children (BFQ-C), a recently developed self-report measure for assessing the basic personality dimensions of energy/extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional instability, and intellect/openness in youths (Barbaranelli, Caprara, Rabasca, & Pastorelli, 2003). A sample of adolescents (N = 222) completed the BFQ-C, the Junior version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (JEPQ), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results showed that the BFQ-C had a clear-cut factor structure, good internal consistency, and sufficient validity as evidenced through its associations with the JEPQ and the measure of strengths and difficulties. An additional finding was that there was little overlap between children’s and parents’ Big Five personality.     

Validation of the Dutch version of the aggression questionnaire in adolescent male offenders

This study examined the construct validity of the Dutch version of Buss and Perry’s Aggression Questionnaire (AQ) in 73 adolescent male offenders aged 12 to 18 years who were participating in a residential rehabilitation program. There was a strong positive association between the Hostility subscale of the AQ and psychological and physical symptoms. The nature of this connection was discussed. It was argued that the Hostility subscale measures some unique aspect of aggression that is not incorporated by the Physical Aggression, Verbal Aggression, or Anger subscales of the AQ. As expected, the AQ scales correlated significantly with trait anger, social desirability, and age. Furthermore, staff ratings of physical violence, verbal aggression, anger, and negative attitude were obtained for each subject. Correlations between the AQ scales and these ratings were low. Possible explanations for this unexpected finding are discussed. Finally, normative and internal structure data are presented. Aggr. Behav. 28:87–96, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Correlates of Self-reported Attachment (In)security in Children: The Role of Parental Romantic Attachment Status and Rearing Behaviors

We investigated the influence of self-reported parental romantic attachment status and rearing behaviors on children’s self-reported attachment (in)security towards father and mother in a sample of 237 non-clinical children aged 9–12. All children and their parents completed a single-item measure of attachment style. The parents further completed an index of their authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive rearing behaviors. Results showed that the attachment status of the father was significantly related to the child’s attachment style to the father. Further, children who portray themselves as insecurely attached to their fathers have fathers with lower average authoritative scores compared to children who are securely attached to their fathers. In examining the relative contribution of attachment style and rearing behaviors of the parents, insecure attachment status of the father was still significantly related to insecure attachment style of the child but the effect of authoritative rearing behaviors of the father on attachment (in)security of children was not statistically significant anymore. Altogether, these results support the notion that attachment status of the father was most substantially associated with self-reported insecure attachment of children.     

Attention control in middle childhood: relations to psychopathological symptoms and threat perception distortions

The present study examined the construct of attention control, which is an important aspect of effortful control, in a sample of non-clinical children aged between 9 and 13 years. Results demonstrated that attention control was associated with a broad range of psychopathological complaints, including symptoms of anxiety, aggression, depression, and ADHD. As predicted, lower levels of attention control were accompanied by higher levels of these symptoms. Further, attention control was also negatively related to threat perception distortions, which indicates that children who display low levels of this regulative temperament factor are more prone to such cognitive biases. Third, when controlling for neuroticism, attention control remained significantly (negatively) associated with symptoms of anxiety, depression (child report only), and ADHD. The correlations between attention control and threat perception distortions largely disappeared when the influence of neuroticism was partialled out. Only the link between attention control and anxious interpretations of ambiguous vignettes survived this correction. Finally, no evidence was found for the hypothesised mediating role of cognitive distortions on the relation between temperament factors and psychopathological symptoms.     

First psychometric evaluation of a disease-specific questionnaire for children's behavior related to otitis media with effusion

The major goal of the present study is a psychometric analysis of two age-specific questionnaires for the assessment of Otitis Media with Effusion-specific behavior in young children, intended for use in case-finding. In total, 172 children ages 12 to 24 mo. and 121 children ages 24 to 48 mo. were available initially. Caregivers completed the questionnaires on two occasions before tympanostomy tube insertion and once 6 wk. later. Factor analysis of a matrix for 30 items yielded four factors for the younger age group and six factors for a 33-item matrix for the older age group, showing more differentiation of factors in terms of developmental specificity for behavior related to Otitis Media with Effusion. The total internal consistency was .82, and each factor measured different aspects of disease-specific behavior (alpha < or = 0.25) in both questionnaires. Sensitivity to change seemed promising and was significant for the age group 12 to 24 mo. Research with revised questionnaires is recommended, in an ongoing validation process, to create optimal developmental conditions for children with chronic or persistent Otitis Media with Effusion.     

An interview to measure vital exhaustion. II. reliability and validity of the interview and correlations of vital exhaustion with personality characteristics

Abstract

In the previous paper (Meesters and Appels, this issue) we described the development of an interview to measure feelings of vital exhaustion (VE). The current paper presents data on the reliability and the validity of the interview, which is labeled the Maastricht Interview for Vital Exhaustion (MIVE). Correlations with the Type A behavior pattern (TABP) and hostility are also discussed in this paper. The data were collected in a case-control study of 81 males with first MI and 168 healthy neighborhood controls. The interview was found to have a good reliability, Cronbach's alpha being .90 in the case group and .86 in the control group. The kappa coefficient was .95 in the case group and .91 in the control group. The validity was tested by computing the estimated relative risk of VE, controlling for angina pectoris and the classic risk factors. The odds ratio was found to be 8.11 (p<.001). This indicates that the interview makes a valid assessment of the mental precursors of MI. The interview correlated significantly with TABP (structured interview) and two self-report measures of hostility (Cook-Medley Hostility Scale and Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory). Although the absolute magnitude of the observed odds ratios may be affected to some extent because the interviews were not scored blind, these results clearly suggest that the MIVE is a reliable and valid method to assess VE.     

Threat perception distortions and psychopathological symptoms in typically developing children

This study examined relationships between symptoms of anxiety, aggression, and depression, on the one hand, and threat perception distortions, on the other hand. A large sample of typically developing children aged 8–12 years (N=157) were interviewed with an instrument for assessing the main types of childhood psychopathology, and were then exposed to a series of ambiguous vignettes in order to measure threat perception. As all measures were obtained twice, some 8 weeks apart, it was also possible to study prospective relationships between threat perception distortions and psychopathological symptoms. Results showed that threat perception was associated with a broad range of psychopathological symptoms, although the connection with anxiety was the most robust. No support was found for the notion that threat perception scores were predictive for the persistence of psychopathological symptoms during the 8‐weeks period. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.