Physical self-concept in adolescence: Generalizability of a multidimensional, hierarchical model across gender and grade

Abstract

This study tests the generalizability of the factor pattern, structural parameters, and latent mean structure of a multidimensional, hierarchical model of physical self-concept in adolescents across gender and grade. A children's version of the Physical Self-Perception Profile (C-PSPP) was administered to seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade high school students (N = 2,969). Two a priori models were proposed: a confirmatory factor-analytic model that hypothesized a multidimensional model of physical self-concept; and a structural equation model that proposed a multidimensional, hierarchical structure with global self-concept as a superordinate construct and physical self-concept as a domain-level construct that explained the covariances among the subdomains of the C-PSPP. Both models satisfied multiple criteria for goodness-of-fit with the data in each individual gender and grade sample. Tests of the invariance of the factor pattern and structural parameters for both models across gender and grade were supported. Consistent with findings from other contexts, latent means analysis suggests that physical self-concept scores was higher in boys. © 2005 Sage Publications.