Lipsitt Self-Concept Scale for Children (SC)

Abstract

The Lipsitt Self-Concept Scale for Children (SC), originally developed by Lewis P. Lipsitt in 1958, is a highly influential and foundational psychometric instrument designed to assess the global self-perception of children. The scale measures how children view their own personality, behavioral characteristics, and social attributes. It typically consists of 22 descriptive items to which the child responds using a 5-point Likert scale, indicating the frequency or extent to which they feel the statement is true about themselves. The scale is widely used in child psychology and educational research, often serving as a measure of self-esteem and general adjustment.

An important adaptation of the SC, documented by Maughan (1968), includes a parallel set of items designed to measure the Ideal Self-Concept (e.g., “I would like to be friendly”). This dual administration allows researchers to calculate the discrepancy between the child’s perception of their current self and their desired self, providing a deeper insight into psychological adjustment.

Keywords

Self-Concept Scale, SC, Self-Concept, Self-Perception, Children, Self-Esteem, Psychometric assessment, Lewis P. Lipsitt, Ideal Self, Manifest Anxiety Scale.

Authors

Lewis P. Lipsitt, Michael Lynn Maughan (for adaptation).

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Lipsitt Self-Concept Scale (SC) is to provide a standardized, quantifiable, and easily administered measure of the global self-concept in school-aged children. It was created specifically to facilitate academic research into the relationships between self-perception and other critical psychological and developmental variables.

Lipsitt’s initial investigation in 1958 focused on establishing the relationship between the SC scores and scores derived from the Children’s Form of the Manifest Anxiety Scale (CMAS), demonstrating its utility in exploring personality correlates. By assessing both positive and negative attributes, the scale provides a robust measure useful for clinical screening, educational planning, and evaluating the effectiveness of intervention programs aimed at bolstering self-esteem.

Construct

The scale measures the psychological construct of Self-Concept, which, within this context, refers to the individual’s cognitive and affective representation of themselves. It captures the child’s self-description across various dimensions, including social behavior, emotional state, and perceived moral traits. The items reflect a blend of desirable characteristics (e.g., kindness, honesty) and undesirable characteristics (e.g., laziness, jealousy).

The total score is generally interpreted as a measure of overall self-esteem or global self-concept. The two forms of the scale (Real Self and Ideal Self) allow for the assessment of self-consistency and self-acceptance, which are crucial indicators of psychological well-being during childhood development.

Validity

Initial studies by Lipsitt provided strong evidence for the construct validity of the SC, particularly through its predicted correlations with measures of emotional adjustment. A key finding supporting validity was the significant inverse correlation observed between high self-concept scores and high scores on the Children’s Form of the Manifest Anxiety Scale (CMAS). This aligns with psychological theory suggesting that positive self-regard is associated with lower anxiety.

Content validity is inherently strong due to the straightforward nature of the items, which are drawn from common language used to describe personality traits relevant to children. Subsequent use of the SC in numerous academic studies confirms its utility, contributing to its established criterion and convergent validity as a measure of self-perception in child populations.

Reliability

The SC has demonstrated acceptable reliability coefficients in various administrations since its inception. Lipsitt’s original research reported internal consistency and test-retest reliability estimates that supported its stability as a measure. The scale’s clarity and simplicity contribute to minimizing measurement error, which is particularly important when assessing younger populations.

Researchers employing the scale, including those utilizing the Maughan adaptation, typically report using standard psychometrics procedures, such as Cronbach’s alpha, to confirm the internal consistency of the 22 items. High internal consistency suggests that all items are measuring the same underlying construct of global self-concept.

Factor Analysis

The Lipsitt Self-Concept Scale is primarily conceptualized as a unidimensional measure, meaning that all items contribute to a single, overall score reflecting global self-concept. However, due to the breadth of traits covered—from social affiliation to moral character—exploratory factor analysis might reveal secondary clusters or factors, such as social acceptance or positive affect.

Despite the potential for sub-factors, most applications of the SC rely on the total score, which is consistently supported by factor analysis as representing the major latent variable of self-concept. Factor analytic studies often confirm that the positive and negative item clusters load appropriately, requiring careful attention to reverse scoring of items like “I am lazy” or “I am jealous.”

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report personality inventory / Psychological screening tool

Format: 22 items for Real Self-Concept, often paralleled by 22 items for Ideal Self-Concept (Maughan adaptation). Responses are measured on a 5-point Likert scale.

Language Available: English (Original)

Population Group: Children

Age Group: Typically 8 to 12 years old (elementary school age)

Population Details: General population children, often used in educational and clinical settings.

Test Methodology: Responses are scored from 1 (not at all) to 5 (all of the time). Negatively worded items (10, 17, 20) are reverse scored. Total scores are summed, with higher scores indicating a more positive self-concept.

Keywords

Psychometrics, Child psychology, Educational assessment, Self-report, Personality traits, Self-acceptance, Anxiety correlation, CMAS.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not available

Affiliation Email addresses: Not available

Correspondence Address: Not available

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Lipsitt Self-Concept Scale for Children (SC) was first introduced in 1958. Due to its foundational status and publication in primary academic journals, the scale is often considered to be in the public domain for academic and non-commercial research use. It is widely reproduced in sourcebooks for clinical practice and research. The instrument details and Maughan’s adaptation can be found in the resource listed below.

Reference’s

• Lipsitt, Lewis P. (1958). A Self-Concept Scale for Children and Its Relationship to the Children’s Form of the Manifest Anxiety Scale. Child Development, 29(4), 463-472.
• Lipsitt, L. P. (1958). Self-Concept Scale for Children (SC). 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): 600-601.
• Maughan, Michael Lynn. (1968). “Student Achievement Effort as Related To Achievement and Self Concept”. All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 5646. Master of Science thesis, Utah State University. The instrument can be found at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/5646.

Items of the Lipsitt Self-Concept Scale for children (SC)

Response Scale: 1= not at all, 2= not very often, 3= some of the time, 4= most of the time, 5= all of the time

Real Self-Concept Items:

1. I am friendly.
2. I am happy.
3. I am kind.
4. I am brave.
5. I am honest.
6. I am likeable.
7. I am trusted.
8. I am good.
9. I am proud.
10. I am lazy.
11. I am loyal.
12. I am co-operative.
13. I am cheerful.
14. I am thoughtful.
15. I am popular.
16. I am courteous.
17. I am jealous.
18. I am obedient.
19. I am polite.
20. I am bashful.
21. I am clean.
22. I am helpful.

Ideal Self-Concept Items (Adopted by Maughan):

1. I would like to be friendly.
2. I would like to be happy.
3. I would like to be kind.
4. I would like to be brave.
5. I would like to be honest.
6. I would like to be likeable.
7. I would like to be trusted.
8. I would like to be good.
9. I would like to be proud.
10. I would like to be lazy.
11. I would like to be loyal.
12. I would like to be co-operative.
13. I would like to be cheerful.
14. I would like to be thoughtful.
15. I would like to be popular.
16. I would like to be courteous.
17. I would like to be jealous.
18. I would like to be obedient.
19. I would like to be polite.
20. I would like to be bashful.
21. I would like to be clean.
22. I would like to be helpful.