Children’s Perceived Self-Control (CPSC) Scale

Abstract

The Children’s Perceived Self-Control (CPSC) Scale is a brief, self-report instrument designed to assess how children perceive their own ability to manage behavior, impulses, and task persistence. Developed by L. L. Humphrey in 1982, the scale captures the subjective experience of Self-Control across various domains, providing a valuable counterpoint to external reports from teachers or parents. The instrument is structured around three primary factors: Personal Self-Control, Interpersonal Self-Control, and Self-Evaluation.

Keywords

Children’s Perceived Self-Control, CPSC, self-control, self-regulation, behavioral assessment, psychological scale, impulse control, self-evaluation, child psychology.

Authors

L. L. Humphrey

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the CPSC Scale is to provide a standardized, efficient method for quantifying a child’s self-perception of their own self-regulatory capacities. By focusing on the child’s internal perspective, the scale is useful in clinical and educational settings for identifying children who may struggle with inhibitory control or task persistence, potentially indicating a need for targeted behavioral interventions.

The scale aids in diagnostic formulation and treatment planning by differentiating between control difficulties experienced in personal versus interpersonal contexts, as well as the child’s meta-cognitive ability to evaluate their own actions.

Construct

The CPSC measures the overarching psychological construct of Self-Regulation, specifically focusing on the child’s perceived competence in applying control. This construct is empirically divided into three distinct factors:

• Personal Self-Control: Relates to the ability to delay gratification, maintain attention on tasks, and manage internal impulses (e.g., items concerning waiting for desired objects or maintaining focus during work).
• Interpersonal Self-Control: Focuses on managing social interactions, conflict resolution, and responding appropriately to external distractions or provocations (e.g., items related to ignoring distractions or avoiding physical confrontation).
• Self-Evaluation: Measures the child’s capacity for self-monitoring and judgment—the ability to recognize when one is behaving inappropriately or making errors without external prompting.

Validity

The inherent validity of the CPSC stems from its design as a self-report instrument, capturing the subjective and internal experience of control, which is often inaccessible through purely behavioral observation. This subjective measure is crucial for establishing Construct Validity regarding a child’s self-efficacy in managing their behavior.

While specific detailed validity studies (such as convergent validity against clinical diagnoses or discriminant validity against measures of anxiety) are typically elaborated in the primary literature (Humphrey, 1982), the scale’s continued inclusion in major resource books suggests its utility and face validity in assessing key components of childhood self-control deficits.

Reliability

Internal consistency reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, reflecting the consistency of items within their respective factors. The reported reliability coefficients, while modest, are considered acceptable for screening instruments used in developmental and Clinical Psychology research with child populations.

• Personal Self-Control: 0.63
• Interpersonal Self-Control: 0.63
• Self-Evaluation: 0.56

The slightly lower coefficient for Self-Evaluation (0.56) suggests that this factor, comprised primarily of two items, may measure a slightly less cohesive construct than the other two subscales.

Factor Analysis

The CPSC Scale is structured based on a three-factor model of perceived self-control. The factors—Personal Self-Control, Interpersonal Self-Control, and Self-Evaluation—are derived from the initial factor analytic work conducted during the scale’s development. This structure allows for a nuanced understanding of self-control deficits, distinguishing between difficulties related to task persistence and focus (Personal) versus difficulties related to social interaction and impulse management in group settings (Interpersonal).

Based on the provided item mapping, the factors are composed as follows:

• Personal Self-Control: Items 5, 6, 7.
• Interpersonal Self-Control: Items 1, 2, 3, 4.
• Self-Evaluation: Items 8, 9.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Psychological Scale

Format: 11 items utilizing a dichotomous response format.

Language Available: English (Primary publication language)

Population Group: Children and Youth

Age Group: Typically utilized with elementary and middle school-aged children, though the specific range depends on the reading and comprehension ability required for self-administration.

Population Details: Originally developed for use in clinical and school settings to evaluate children’s self-regulatory abilities, including those exhibiting behavioral problems or attention deficits.

Test Methodology: The scale is self-administered. Items are scored dichotomously: 1 = Usually yes, and 0 = Usually no. Higher scores generally indicate a higher level of perceived self-control in the measured domain.

Keywords

Self-perception, impulse control, behavioral problems, child assessment, academic performance, social skills, L. L. Humphrey, psychological measurement.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not available in source material or standard historical records for the author.)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not available.)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Information not available; refer to primary publication source.)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was initially published in 1982. The CPSC is often cited and reproduced in academic sourcebooks for clinical measures. Researchers seeking to utilize the scale for commercial or extensive research purposes should consult the copyright holder of the original publication (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology) or contact the publisher of the sourcebook (Oxford University Press) for current usage permissions and associated fees. The instrument is readily accessible in the resource volume listed below.

Reference’s

• Humphrey, L. L. (1982). Children’s and teachers’ perspectives on children’s self-control: The development of two rating scales. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 50(5), 624-633.
• Fischer, Joel.‚ Corcoran, Kevin J. (2007). Measures for Clinical Practice and research: A sourcebook. (4th ed.). NY: Oxford University Pr. Vol. 1, Page(s): 479-480.
• Humphrey, L. L. (1982). Children’s Perceived Self-Control (CPSC). In Fischer, Joel.‚ Corcoran, Kevin J. (2007). Measures for Clinical Practice and research: A sourcebook. (4th ed.). NY: Oxford University Pr. Vol. 1, Page(s): 479-480.

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Items of the Children’s Perceived Self-Control (CPSC) Scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. If someone bothers me when I’m busy I ignore him/her.
2. When the teacher is busy I talk to my friends.
3. When someone pushes me I fight them.
4. I think about other things while I work.
5. It’s hard to keep working when my friends are ha‎ving fun.
6. It’s hard to wait for something I want.
7. I make mistakes because I work too fast.
8. I know when I’m doing something wrong without someone telling me.
9. If my work is too hard I switch to something else.
10. After I do something it’s hard to tell what will happen next.
11. It’s hard for me to finish my work If I don’t like It.