Reliability of the MSP-C and initial comparison of French and Hong Kong data

Abstract

The Motivational Profile for Children (MSP-C) was developed and pilot-tested in 2003 (Sit, Lindner, & Apter). In this paper, the results of subsequent reliability testing of the instrument are presented as well as comparisons between a Hong Kong and a French sample of 11-14 year olds with regard to differences in orientations, dominances and saliences, and the factor structures for both samples. (M)ANOVAs indicated no differences between the 25- and 50-item versions of the test, and test-retest reliability coefficients generally ranged from acceptable to very high. The factor structures for the two nationalities were quite similar with clear telic, alloic, arousalavoidance/seeking, and negativistic factors. Hong Kong children were significantly more arousal-avoidance (p < .0001) and less sympathy dominant (p < .05) than the French respondents, and had a tendency to respond more strongly to the instrument's items as evidenced by significant differences in the orientations and saliences. These initial results suggest that the MSP-C is a viable and reliable instrument for the measurement of metamotivational characteristics of children between 11 and 14 years of age, but somewhat susceptible to geographic differences. Further testing needs to be done to ascertain whether these differences are due to translation or cultural factors.