Reliability and validity of the self-perception profile for adolescents: An Australian sample

Reliability and validity of the self-perception profilefor adolescents: An Australian sampleajpy_31 92..99

Elizabeth Rose,1 Beth Hands,1 and Dawne Larkin2

1Institute for Health and Rehabilitation Studies, University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, and 2School of Sport Science,Exercise and Health, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia

Abstract

In this study, we explored the psychometric properties and factorial validity of Harter’s Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents (SPPA)with an Australian sample drawn from the Raine study 14-year follow-up. Participants, boys (n = 795) and girls (n = 758) fromGrades 8, 9, and 10, completed the SPPA. Cronbach’s alpha showed good internal reliabilities for seven of the eight subscales andglobal self-worth. Boys had significantly higher athletic (p < .001), physical appearance (p < .001), and romantic (p < .05) self-perceptions, while the girls perceived significantly higher behavioural conduct (p < .001) and close friendships (p < .001). Exploratoryfactor analysis yielded similar factors to those reported by Harter with North American adolescents, although cross loadings resultedin one additional factor. Our findings generally supported Harter’s conceptualisation of the self as a multidimensional construct, andwith minor modifications, the use of the SPPA with Australian adolescents.

Key words: adolescents, Harter, Raine study, self-perceptions

INTRODUCTION

Self-esteem has long been recognised as playing a dynamic

and important role in an individual’s emotional experiences,

future behaviour, and long-term psychosocial well-being. It

is also well recognised that the formation of self-esteem is a

complex process, influenced by an individual’s socialization

experiences, achievement-related behaviour, and person-to-

person interaction, that in turn varies according to cultural

context. While there is strong support for the importance of

self-esteem in traditional areas of psychosocial health, there

is now focus on newer related areas. DuBois and Hirsch

(2000) argue that by affording higher priority to linking

the study of self-esteem to other aspects of the development,

researchers would be better positioned to understanding

self-processes in adolescence. Recent findings focus on the

relationships between perceptions of the self and a range

of variables: diet and appearance satisfaction (Barker

& Bornstein, 2010), neural activity (Pfiefer et al., 2009),

self-deception and self-liking (Mar, DeYoung, Higgins, &

Peterson, 2006), overexcitability (Rinn, Mendaglio, Rudasill,

& McQueen, 2010), body weight and obesity (McCullough,

Muldoon, & Dempster, 2009; O’Dea, 2006), emotional

expression (Polce-Lynch, Myers, Kliewer, & Kilmartin,

2001), and smoking behaviour (Glendinning & Inglis,

1999).

As socio-cultural and ethnic dimensions of self-esteem

continue to be examined in new areas and broader contexts

(Akande, 2009; Greenberg, 2008; Michaels, Barr, & Roosa,

2007; Schmitt & Allik, 2005), researchers need to be confi-

dent that their choice of self-perception measurement

is appropriate for the sample of interest. While the Self-

Perception Profile for Adolescents (SPPA; Harter, 1988) was

designed for use in the USA, it has been widely used in

other countries. There is support for its use with French

Canadian (Bouffard et al., 2002) and Norwegian adolescents

(Wichstrøm, 1995), and one study has tested its validity

and reliability in Australia (Trent, Russell, & Cooney, 1994).

However, it is documented that self-esteem is bound to

culture, from within (Purdie & McCrindle, 2004) and

between cultures (Hattie, 1992). Furthermore, the compo-

nents of self-concept can change over time and generations.

The adolescent in 2010 is developing in different socio-

cultural contexts than those of 20 years ago. Lifestyles have

changed significantly since Harter’s conceptualisation of the

self and the design and validation of SPPA in her country.

Correspondence: Professor Beth Hands, PhD, Institute for Healthand Rehabilitation Studies, University of Notre Dame, PO Box 1225,Fremantle, WA 6959, Australia. Email: [email protected]

Received 8 December 2010. Accepted for publication 26 April2011.© 2011 The Australian Psychological Society

Australian Journal of Psychology 2012; 64: 92–99doi:10.1111/j.1742-9536.2011.00031.x

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Duda and Hayashi (1998) caution researchers when using

instruments validated in one culture with another. For

example, Moksnes, Moljord, Espnes, and Byrne (2010)

found differences in the factor structure of an instrument

developed in Australia when employed with Norwegian

adolescents. In relation to measures of self-perception,

Harter (1999, p. 134) notes that ‘at minimum any meaning-

ful interpretation requires that these instruments show com-

parable psychometric properties’. In sum, instruments that

were conceptually and psychometrically sound for measur-

ing self-esteem in adolescent populations in one country

several decades ago may not be appropriate for use with

youth of today in another country. This article differs from

an earlier Australian study by Trent et al. (1994), who

worked with a younger sample, omitted a subscale from the

SPPA, and added two subdomains (English and Mathemat-

ics) that were not a part of Harter’s SPPA. We employed data

for all eight SPPA subscales and global self-worth (GSW)

with a larger and older sample. To our knowledge, the SPPA

in its complete form has not been examined for validity and

reliability with an Australian sample of adolescents.

Based on factor analytic and other statistical models

(Harter, 1982; Hattie & Marsh, 1996; Shavelson & Marsh,

1986), there is now general acceptance of the multi-

dimensional nature of self-esteem and related constructs

(e.g., self-concept, self-perceptions), although there is some

debate regarding the sensitivity of global measures of

self-esteem (Bodkin-Andrews, O’Rourke, & Craven, 2010;

Glendinning & Inglis, 1999; Supple & Plunkett, 2011).

Currently used measures (DuBois, Tevendale, Burke-

Braxton, Swenson, & Hardesty, 2000; Harter, 1985, 1988;

Marsh, 1988, 1991) were designed around this conceptual

framework of the self in which there are domain-specific

self-perceptions and GSW. To accommodate the transition

from childhood to adolescence, Harter (1988) developed

the SPPA, expanding and redesigning the Self-Perception

Profile for Children (SPPC). According to the changing

roles and relationships that adolescents experience in a

variety of contexts, Harter proposed that domain-specific

self-perceptions become more diverse with development.

Consequently, in developing the SPPA, Harter added three

subscales to the SPPC: romantic, close friendship, and job

competence. The SPPA and the SPPC measures reflect not

only the multidimensional nature of the self but also the

increasing ability of the individual to differentiate among

aspects of the self.

Harter explains her model of self-concept as an integra-

tion of two approaches; the need to consider both the mul-

tidimensional nature of self-evaluative judgements, as well

as the individual’s overall sense of self-worth. Within this

framework, it is essential to recognise that GSW is a con-

struct in its own right, representing the overall judgement

about oneself as a person. According to Harter, GSW

involves a complex combination of discrete judgements

about the self and can be directly assessed. In the SPPA,

GSW is not assessed by combining domain-specific judge-

ments. Thus, Harter conceptually and empirically separates

the domain-specific judgements of competence from the

individual’s global sense of self-worth. Harter reports that

GSW is qualitatively different from self-descriptions in each

of the specific domains. Although GSW is in part influenced

by competence in these domains, it is also influenced by

how important one deems the domain. Hence, the relation-

ship between GSW and the other subdomains is not

hierarchical.

Harter (1988, 1999) reported varying relationships

between GSW and domain-specific self-perceptions, with

physical appearance showing the strongest relationship.

Researchers have consistently supported this finding (Seidah

& Bouffard, 2007; Trent et al., 1994; Wichstrøm, 1995).

Although the effect of physical appearance on GSW is gen-

erally considered a reflection of societal influence on the

importance of good looks, Harter goes further to describe this

domain of physical appearance as ‘the portable self’, some-

thing that an individual carries into every situation. As a

result, there is a unique relationship between one’s percep-

tion of physical appearance, ‘the outer self’ and GSW, ‘the

inner self’. How closely this relationship emerges in Austra-

lian adolescent culture is of interest in the current study.

During the development of the SPPA, Harter found that

gender impacted differently on specific domains of self-

esteem. Physical and biological changes occur within con-

texts that make adolescence a particularly unique period in

which gender role expectations of significant others play a

strong role. As boys and girls undergo the many physical

and social changes of early adolescence, they must come to

terms with the new definitions of their roles as females

or males. Consistent with findings reported for gender dif-

ferences in self-perceptions across the lifespan, adolescent

males have been shown to have higher self-perceptions

in athletic competence, physical appearance, and GSW,

than their female counterparts, and these are generally

reported in studies using the SPPA (Harter, 1988; Trent

et al., 1994). Harter (1988) also reported that female ado-

lescents rated their perceptions higher on the behavioural

conduct subscale.

Our purpose in this study therefore was to add to the

existing body of research examining the validity and reliabil-

ity of the SPPA (Harter, 1988) with Australian adolescents.

We asked the following questions.

1. Does the SPPA measure the different facets of self-

perception as conceptualised by Harter’s (1985, 1988)

multidimensional model of the construction of the self?

2. Does the SPPA have acceptable levels of internal consis-

tency with Australian adolescents?

Adolescent self-perceptions 93

© 2011 The Australian Psychological Society

3. What are the relationships between the domain-specific

self-perceptions and GSW?

4. Do Australian adolescent girls and boys differ in domain-

specific self-perceptions and GSW?

METHOD

Participants

The adolescents were a subsample (N = 1,568) of a possible

1,860 who participated in the 14-year-old follow-up in the

longitudinal West Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine)

Study. The original study began in 1989 as described by

Newnham, Evans, Michael, Stanley, and Landau (1993). The

socio-demographic characteristics of the cohort are broadly

representative of the Western Australian population (Li

et al., 2008). The subsample participated in the data collec-

tion of Harter’s (1988) SPPA. Of this subsample, four partici-

pants who were in the seventh grade were eliminated from

the data analysis as the SPPA was developed on adolescents

from the eighth to eleventh grade. Thirteen participants

were excluded as information on their grade level was

missing. The 1,551 participants remaining in this study

included 757 females and 794 males from Grades 8 to 10,

with an age range from 157 to 180 months (M = 168, stan-

dard deviation (SD) = 2.30).

Measures

Self-perceptions were assessed using Harter’s (1988) SPPA.

The scale has 45 items which tap GSW and eight specific

domains including: (1) athletic competence, (2) physical

appearance, (3) social acceptance, (4) close friendship, (5)

romantic appeal, (6) behavioural conduct, (7) job compe-

tence, and (8) scholastic competence. Each subscale consists

of five statements. Of the 45 items, 20 are reversed to avoid

acquiescence. The SPPA employs a structured alternate

format designed to avoid socially desirable responses. The

participant first decides which statement is most true for her

or him, and then proceeds to decide whether the statement

is ‘really true’ or ‘sort of true’. The score for each statement

ranges from 1 (lowest) to 4 (highest). The items are pre-

sented as pairs of statements contrasting two types of

adolescents on one characteristic. In our study, a few par-

ticipants did not respond to some items. Where there were

4/5 responses in a subscale, the mean of the four responses

was used. Where a participant answered fewer than four of

the five subscale items, their subscale score was removed

from the analysis (see Table 1).

Procedures

The ethics committee of Princess Margaret Hospital provided

approval to carry out the research. Volunteer participants

completed the questionnaire individually under the super-

vision of trained researchers, either in their own home or at

the Institute.

Design and statistics

All statistical analyses were undertaken using SPSS version

17 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Descriptive statistics are

provided for each of the subscales. Cronbach’s alpha was

used to indicate the internal consistency of each subscale.

T-tests explored the effect of gender on each of the self-

perception subscales and GSW.

Factorial validity was explored using confirmatory factor

analysis (AMOS v17, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Because

the model failed to fit, we used principal components analy-

sis with oblique (promax) rotation to explore the factor

patterns in the data. Harter (1988) recommended this

approach as correlations were expected between some sub-

scales. Factor loadings of 0.3 or more were considered when

interpreting factors. All items from the eight subdomains

were included in the analysis. GSW, the overall value placed

on oneself by the individual, differs from a specific domain of

competence (Harter, 1988). For this reason, Harter recom-

mended that it should not be included in the factor analysis

of the SPPA.

Table 1 SPPA subscale and GSW mean (SD) scores for males and females

N Total n Males n Females Gender difference

Scholastic 1,551 2.86 (0.60) 794 2.88 (0.60) 757 2.84 (0.60) p = .21Conduct 1,551 2.90 (0.52) 794 2.83 (0.52) 757 2.98 (0.54) p < .01Athletic 1,549 2.84 (0.67) 792 2.97 (0.63) 757 2.69 (0.68) p < .01Appearance 1,551 2.70 (0.65) 794 2.82 (0.58) 757 2.53 (0.68) p < .01Acceptance 1,550 3.18 (0.54) 793 3.16 (0.53) 757 3.20 (0.55) p = .14Friend 1,551 3.33 (0.59) 794 3.18 (0.57) 757 3.48 (0.57) p < .01Romantic 1,497 2.64 (0.50) 764 2.68 (0.50) 733 2.61 (0.49) p < .01Job 1,507 2.91 (0.52) 770 2.89 (0.51) 737 2.93 (0.53) p = .11Global self-worth 1,551 3.15 (0.53) 794 3.20 (0.46) 757 3.09 (0.58) p < .01

94 E. Rose et al.


RESULTS

Factor analysisThe confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) testing Harter’s

eight subdomain model did not provide adequate fit statis-

tics (c2 = 3,502, df = 712, p < .01; Comparative Fit Index

(CFI) = 0.87; Adjusted Goodness-of-Fit Index (AGFI) = 0.85;

Root-mean-square-error of approximation (RMSEA) =0.05). Subsequently, the exploratory principal component

analysis yielded nine factors with an eigenvalue greater than

1. These factors accounted for 61.5% of the variance. Eight

of the factors identified the same domains of self-perception

(see Table 2) as the SPPA (Harter, 1988); however, there

were some cross loadings. The romantic subscale split into

two resulting in nine rather than eight factors. Three of the

factors paralleled Harter’s subscales: athletic, scholastic, and

job competence. All of the physical appearance items loaded

on a single factor, with one of the items cross loading onto

the romantic factor. All five of the social acceptance state-

ments loaded on one factor; however, two statements from

the close friend domain loaded on this factor. These two

statements also cross loaded onto the close friend factor,

which included all five close friend statements with all load-

ings above 0.3. Four of the five behavioural conduct state-

ments loaded on a single factor, while the fifth statement

failed to load substantially on any factor but had low load-

ings (<0.3) on three factors including behavioural conduct.

With our Australian data, Harter’s romantic subscale yielded

two separate components with all five of the original

items loading on one factor, and the two negatively worded

Table 2 Promax pattern matrix for the eight subdomains of the SPPA

Scale itemsComponent

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Athletic competence 3 0.86Athletic competence 39 0.81Athletic competence 12 0.79Athletic competence 21 0.79Athletic competence 30 0.70Social acceptance 11 0.86Social acceptance 2 0.84Social acceptance 38 0.78Social acceptance 29 0.70Social acceptance 20 0.60Close friendship 35 0.48 0.35Close friendship 8 0.43 0.40Physical appearance 13 0.91Physical appearance 22 0.89Physical appearance 4 0.82Physical appearance 40 0.73Physical appearance 31 0.54 0.48Scholastic competence 28 0.85Scholastic competence 37 0.76Scholastic competence 10 0.75Scholastic competence 1 0.74Scholastic competence 19 0.71Behavioural conduct 34 0.81Behavioural conduct 7 0.80Behavioural conduct 16 0.79Behavioural conduct 43 0.78Close friendship 17 0.84Close friendship 44 0.80Close friendship 26 0.79Job competence 23 0.85Job competence 5 0.83Job competence 41 0.78Job competence 14 0.50Job competence 32 0.32Romantic 24 0.69Romantic 6 0.65Romantic 33 0.63Romantic 15 0.31 0.85Romantic 42 0.32 0.79Eigenvalue 8.34 3.63 3.13 2.30 1.92 1.58 1.31 1.22 1.16% Variance 20.85 9.08 7.82 5.74 4.80 3.96 3.27 3.04 2.91



statements also forming another factor. The correlations

between factors (see Table 3) indicated that there were mod-

erate correlations between the social acceptance and the

close friend factors and between behavioural conduct and

scholastic factors. The correlation between the two romantic

factors was low (-0.11).

Internal consistency

The Australian sample showed good internal consistency

for all subscales except the romantic subscale. Cronbach’s

alpha ranged from a low of 0.68 for the romantic subscale

(N = 1,443) through to a high of 0.87 for the athletic sub-

scale (N = 1,536). In Table 4, internal consistency reliabilities

from our study are compared with those reported for the

American (Harter, 1988), French Canadian (Bouffard et al.,

2002), Australian (Trent et al., 1994), and Norwegian

(Wichstrøm, 1995) studies. The latter study used both a

structured alternative format and a Likert scale. While some

minor variations were evident, there was overall consistency

across these studies.

Correlations between GSW and subscales

GSW was most highly correlated with physical appearance

(see Table 5), and there were moderate correlations (30.4)

between GSW and the social acceptance, behavioural

conduct, scholastic, and athletic domains. Among the sub-

domains, there was a moderate correlation between social

acceptance and best friend, and between scholastic compe-

tence and behavioural conduct.

Table 3 Correlation matrix between self-perception components

Subscale 1 A 2 SA 3 PA 4 SC 5 BC 6 CF 7 JC 8 R 9 R-

1 A 1.002 SA 0.38 1.003 PA 0.38 0.36 1.004 SC 0.18 0.29 0.29 1.005 BC 0.02 0.25 0.29 0.46 1.006 CF 0.12 0.46 0.06 0.10 0.18 1.007 JC 0.17 0.32 0.16 0.28 0.17 0.15 1.008 R 0.24 0.26 0.20 0.12 -0.09 0.15 0.12 1.009 R- 0.16 0.34 0.23 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.22 -0.11 1.00

A = athletic competence; SA = social acceptance; PA = physical appearance; SC = scholastic competence; BC = behavioural conduct; CF = closefriendship; JC = job competence; R = romantic.

Table 4 A comparison of studies of internal reliability for Harter’s SPPA

Subscale Raine Harter Bouffard Trent et al. Wichstrøma

Athletic 0.87 0.89 0.91 0.89 0.66/0.79Appearance 0.86 0.86 0.91 0.85 0.76/0.87Friend 0.82 0.82 0.84 0.75/0.78Social acceptance 0.81 0.81 0.83 0.85b 0.56/0.76Scholastic 0.82 0.82 0.77 0.91c 0.60/0.69Conduct 0.77 0.78d 0.76 0.59 –Job 0.72 0.74d 0.73 – –Romantic 0.68 0.81 0.63 0.70 0.65/0.75GSW 0.81 0.85 0.85 0.82 0.68/0.77

aStructured alternative/Likert. bCombined close friend/social acceptance. cCombined scholastic competence/math competence. dUsed Harter’s (1988)revised D sample only.

Table 5 Correlations between global self-worth (GSW) and specific subscales

Subscales GSW Scholastic Behaviour Job Social Athletic PA CF

Scholastic 0.41Behaviour 0.46 0.48Job 0.27 0.26 0.18Social 0.49 0.23 0.19 0.29Athletic 0.40 0.19 0.06 0.19 0.42Physical appearance 0.65 0.24 0.24 0.14 0.34 0.43Close friend 0.37 0.18 0.26 0.24 0.57 0.21 0.18Romantic 0.32 0.13 0.04 0.27 0.43 0.32 0.33 0.31

96 E. Rose et al.


Gender differences

As shown in Table 1, adolescent males had significantly

higher self-perceptions than females for GSW, athletic com-

petence, physical appearance, and romantic appeal. The

females had significantly higher self-perceptions of their

behavioural conduct and close friendships. There were no

significant differences between genders for scholastic, social

acceptance, and job competence domains.

DISCUSSION

The main purpose of this study was to examine the psycho-

metric properties and the factorial structure of the SPPA

(Harter, 1988) in its original form for use with Australian

adolescents. From the results of our analyses and from com-

parisons made with Harter’s (1988) findings for the SPPA, it

appears that the psychometric properties and the factorial

structure of the original version developed for American

adolescents are generally consistent with our Australian

sample. Although there were methodological differences

between our studies, the French Canadian (Bouffard et al.,

2002), Norwegian (Wichstrøm, 1995), and the previous

Australian study (Trent et al., 1994) findings reported for the

SPPA were generally comparable.

Harter’s (1988) model of the construction of the adoles-

cent self was generally supported as eight of the factors

identified in our study measured the same facets of self-

perception that she had conceptualised. Three of the factors,

athletic, scholastic, and job competence, mirrored the items

used in Harter’s subscales. Comparisons could not be made

with the Trent et al. (1994) study, because they did not

include job competence. They argued that the participants in

their study, lacking experience in paid employment, would

not have the work experiences to give consistent responses

on perceived competence in the job domain. However, the

age range was older in our sample. We also noted that in all

but one of the job competence items, the statements relate to

the potential to perform a paid job rather than being in actual

current employment. Essentially, even if some respondents

had no experience in paid work, they could respond about

perceptions of competence as if they had a job. Based on our

findings from the factor analysis and the internal consistency

reliability, there seems little justification for omission of the

job subscale from the SPPA when working with Australian

adolescents older than those in the Trent study (Trent et al.,

1994).

The physical appearance factor was also consistent with

Harter’s subdomain, although it had one item that cross

loaded with romantic appeal. This item focused on percep-

tions of being good-looking, whereas the other statements

were more focused on satisfaction with one’s looks. When

Wichstrøm (1995) used the GSW subscale in the factor

analysis, physical appearance loaded with GSW to form one

factor, further evidence of the inextricable link between

physical appearance and the overall value that a person

places on the self as a worthy being.

Our findings for close friendship and social acceptance also

were similar to those reported by Harter (1988), with each

emerging as separate factors. However, in our sample, there

were two close friendship items that cross loaded on social

acceptance. These two items focused on the ability to make

a close friend, whereas the other items in this subscale asked

about having a close friend. Trent et al. (1994) found that

although close friendships and social acceptance formed

separate factors, they were highly correlated with each

other. On this basis, they combined these factors to form one

social factor, limiting the possibility for comparison with our

study. In our study, the adolescents were older; the correla-

tions between these factors lower; and the factors were

better separated. This finding is consistent with Harter’s view

that there is increased ability to differentiate among domains

of competence with age.

For romantic appeal, our findings differed from those

reported by Harter (1988). Instead of one well-defined

factor, we found that the two negatively worded items had

acceptable loadings with the remaining three positively

worded romantic items. However, they also formed a sepa-

rate factor. Thus, two separate romantic appeal factors

emerged. The tendency for negatively worded items to form

separate factors has been reported elsewhere (Schmitt &

Allik, 2005; Supple & Plunkett, 2011). It was perplexing that

in our study, this separation in loading of negatively worded

items was isolated to the romantic subscale. A possible expla-

nation may lie in the inability of adolescents in our sample

to differentiate romantic appeal when statements are pre-

sented negatively. Adolescents might be cognitively aware of

romantic attraction (the media makes that very clear), but

may have little real-life experience in the romantic domain.

Bouffard et al. (2002) also reported difficulties in the factor

structure in relation to romantic attraction and recommend

more in-depth research of this factor, especially when com-

paring age-related responses and cultural differences in

awareness of romantic attraction.

With behavioural conduct, we suspect that even a slight

cultural difference in word interpretation might influence

factor loadings. The use of the word ‘feel’ in item 25 could

well have been the cause for this item having low loadings

(<0.3) across three factors. The statement, Some teenagers feel

really good about the way they act but other teenagers don’t feel

that good about the way they often act did not work with this

Australian sample. The other items in this subscale directly

ask about ‘doing’ rather than ‘feeling’. Item 25 did not load

on any factor, and deleting it from the behavioural conduct

subscale resulted in an increase of Cronbach’s alpha

from 0.77 to 0.80. In the Trent et al. (1994) study, this item



loaded with social acceptance rather than with behavioural

conduct. A rewording of the statement would be recom-

mended for use with future Australian samples. Even if

cultures appear to be very similar, careful attention needs to

be given to wording in pencil and paper questionnaires.

There is good correspondence between Harter’s (1988)

and our findings for internal consistency reliabilities. All

subscales were at an acceptable level given that there were

only five items per subscale (Pallant, 2005). The most notice-

able difference was for the romantic subscale (0.68), which

was considerably lower than the coefficient (0.81) reported

by Harter. The reliability of the romantic subscale is lower

not just in our study, but also in the studies carried out by

Bouffard et al. (0.63) in Canada, by Trent et al. (0.70) in

Australia, and by Wichstrøm (0.65) in Norway using the

structured alternate scale. It is possible that the media influ-

ences on the importance of romantic attraction occur at an

earlier age in the USA.

For physical appearance and athletic competence, the

internal reliabilities were high and consistent with earlier

studies (Bouffard et al., 2002; Harter, 1988; Trent et al.,

1994; Wichstrøm, 1995). Similarly, the alpha levels for job

competence were at an acceptable level and varied little

from those reported by Harter (1988) and Bouffard et al.

(2002).

With respect to behavioural conduct, our findings for

reliability were at an acceptable level and consistent with

those reported from the American and French Canadian

studies. Trent et al. (1994), with a younger Australian

sample, reported much lower reliability for behavioural

conduct (0.59). Again, consistent with the findings of Harter

(1988) and Bouffard et al. (2002), we found acceptably high

alpha levels for social acceptance and close friendships.

Internal consistency for scholastic competence was also

acceptable and comparable to those reported by Harter and

Bouffard et al.

When relationships between specific domains and GSW

were examined, Harter (1988) reported that physical

appearance was the major contributor to GSW. Our results

were consistent with Harter’s (1999) conceptualisation of

the unique relationship between one’s perception of physi-

cal appearance, ‘the portable self’, and GSW, ‘the inner self’.

Our results also reflected Harter’s intercorrelation cluster of

scholastic competence and behavioural conduct, in which

adult support was considered most relevant. Harter also

reported a second cluster comprised of correlations among

more peer-relevant domains; physical appearance, romantic

appeal, and social acceptance. The relationships between

these peer-relevant domains were not as strong as those in

the Harter study.

Previous studies (Harter, 1988, 1999; Marsh, 1989) have

clearly shown that boys and girls differ in level of perceptions

of competence, more notably in some domains than others.

Our findings were similar to those of Harter (1988) and Trent

et al. (1994). The boys in our study had higher perceptions

in athletic competence, physical appearance, and GSW.

Unlike their studies (Harter, 1988; Trent et al., 1994), we

found that the boys also had higher perceptions on the

romantic subscale. Physical appearance, athletic compe-

tence, and romantic appeal all fall within what Harter

(1999) refers to as peer-relevant domains. Similarly to

Harter (1988), girls in our study were higher in perceptions

of behavioural conduct, but they also had higher perceptions

of close friendships. This too is not surprising, given that girls

are more likely to seek out one best friend, than are boys

(Harter, 1999). Trent reported no differences between boys

and girls for behavioural conduct or with their combined

subscale of social acceptance and close friendship. The

French study (Bouffard et al., 2002) reported gender differ-

ences that were similar to those found in our study.

Cultural differences, language modifications of the SPPA,

and differences in sample sizes and age ranges are all limiting

factors when making comparisons between our findings and

previous validation studies. The cross-sectional nature of this

study prevented examination of test re-test reliability, an

issue that needs to be addressed to pursue longitudinal

studies (Shevlin, Adamson, & Collins, 2003). Important dif-

ferences found by other researchers in the use of particular

subscales, such as job competence, social acceptance, close

friendships, and romantic attraction, highlight the need for

the regular assessment of instruments developed previously,

especially if developed in another culture where social and

cultural influences may be different. Mitigating the effects

of negative bias remains a challenge for future investigators.

In our study, with the exception of the romantic subscale, we

can conclude that there is general support for the factor

validity and reliability of the SPPA, and its use with Austra-

lian adolescents.

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Reliability and validity of the self-perception profile for adolescents: An Australian sample