Pictorial scale of physical self-concept for younger children (P-PSC-C): a feasibility study

Children’s self-perception of motor skills and physical fitness is said to be an important mediator between skills and physical fitness on the one hand and physical activity on the other hand. To understand the development and the differentiation of the physical self-concept of children and its components an age-appropriate self-perception scale is needed. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (1) to develop a pictorial scale of physical fitness for pre-school children (3-6), and (2) to describe the face validity and feasibility of the scale. The study sample included 27 kindergarten children. In order to determine the psychometric properties, validity was assessed through administration of the Pictorial Scale for Physical Self-Concept in Kindergarten children (P-PSC-C) compared with children’s fundamental movement skill competency (Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD)-3; 6 locomotor and 7 object-control skills), height, weight, and demographics. The face validity was favorable. Expectable negatively skewed response distributions in all items were found. Medium correlations with related constructs and with sport enjoyment were found. The results indicate that the new scale is usable for kindergarten children. Future validation studies are needed so the new scale can contribute to the research about physical-self-concept development in kindergarten children.