Advances in Physical Education
2013. Vol.3, No.4, 158-164
Published Online November 2013 in SciRes (http://www.scirp.org/journal/ape) http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ape.2013.34026
Open Access
158
Psychometric Properties of the Greek Version of the Children and
Youth Physical Self-Perception Profile Questionnaire
Athanasios Kolovelonis1, Maria Mousouraki2, Marios Goudas1, Maria Michalopoulou2
1Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Thessaly, Trikala, Greece
2Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Democritus University of Thrace, Komotini, Greece
Received July 20th, 2013; revised August 20th, 2013; accepted August 27th, 2013
Copyright © 2013 Athanasios Kolovelonis et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative
Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is properly cited.
The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Greek version of the Children
and Youth Physical Self-Perception Profile questionnaire. The factor structure, internal consistency, tem-
poral stability, concurrent and criterion-related validity, and social desirability effect were examined. Re-
sults from the confirmatory factor analyzes supported the six-factor solution and the hypothesized hierar-
chical structure of these factors. Internal consistency and temporal stability were adequate and no social
desirability effect was emerged. Moreover, the concurrent and the criterion validity of the questionnaire
were supported. In particular, questionnaire subscales were correlated in expected ways with correspond-
ing subscales of the Harter’s Self-Perception Profile for Children as well as with students’ scores in shut-
tle run test and the participation time in sport. Overall, the results showed that the Greek version of the
scale is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to examine Greek children’s and youth’s self-
perceptions.
Keywords: Self-Perceptions; Physical Education; Sport; Children and Youth; Questionnaire; CY-PSPP
Introduction
Self-esteem, which is the feeling that a person has about his
or her own value, is associated with psychological health and
well-being and has been widely used in explaining human be-
havior (Fox & Corbin, 1989). Indeed, the nature of self-per-
ceptions has drawn the attention of research both in academic
(Harter, 1982) and in physical education and sport (Fox, 2000)
domains.
Recent views have theorized self-esteem as multidimensional
and hierarchical in nature. Global self-esteem is located at the
apex of this hierarchical model and composed of the combina-
tion of people’s self-perceptions in different domains (e.g.,
social, physical, cognitive; Harter, 1982; Marsh, Craven, &
Martin, 2006). For each of these subdomains differentiated self-
perceptions may be developed. For example, a student’s per-
ceptions about his or her self may be different in academic
compared to physical domain.
Physical self-worth (PSW) reflects the general feelings of
satisfaction and confidence regarding the self in the physical
domain (e.g., sport and physical education). Fox and Corbin
(1989) identified four sub-domains of physical self-perceptions,
namely sport competence, physical condition, body attractive-
ness, and physical strength. Sport competence (SPORT) repre-
sents students’ perceptions regarding their sport and athletic
ability, their ability to learn new sport and motor skills, and
how confident they feel in sport environments. Physical condi-
tion (COND) represents students’ perceptions regarding the
levels of their physical condition, fitness and stamina, their
ability to maintain exercise and how confident they feel in the
exercise and fitness setting. Body attractiveness (BODY) rep-
resents students’ feelings regarding the attractiveness of their
bodies and how confident they feel about their appearance.
Physical strength (STREN) represents students’ perceptions
regarding their strength and muscle development, and how
confident they feel when they are involved in strength-de-
manding tasks.
Fox and Corbin (1989) developed the Physical Self-Percep-
tion Profile (PSPP) to measure these four physical self-percep-
tions (i.e., SPORT, COND, BOBY, STREN) adopting a multi-
dimensional and hierarchical approach. The four dimensions of
the physical self-perceptions are hierarchically related to more
global physical self-perceptions (i.e., PSW) while the global
self-esteem or global self-worth (GSW) is located at the apex of
this hierarchical model. Fox and Corbin (1989) provided evi-
dence for the psychometric properties of this scale with a col-
lege age population. Moreover, results supported the hierarchi-
cal structure of the PSPP. In particular, SPORT, COND, BOBY,
and STREN scores explained a high percentage of the variance
in the overlying construct of PSW which mediated the rela-
tionship of these four subdomain subscale scores with global
self-esteem.
Whitehead (1995) adopted the PSPP to use it for children
and adolescents. The C-PSPP (Whitehead, 1995) consisted of
three of the original PSPP (Fox & Corbin, 1989) subscales (i.e.,
COND, BOBY, and STREN) and Harter’s (1982) sport com-
petence subscale that was almost identical to the corresponding
PSPP scale and already validated. Moreover, the C-PSPP in-
cluded a global PSW (Whitehead & Corbin, 1991) and a gen-
eral GSW (Harter, 1982) scale. The exploratory factor analysis

A. KOLOVELONIS ET AL.
supported the construct and concurrent validity of the C-PSPP.
However, a number of significant cross-loadings were emerged.
Further research on the C-PSPP has yield mixed results. In
particular, Biddle, Page, Ashford, Jennings, Brooke, and Fox
(1993) used British children and youth to examine the psycho-
metric properties of the C-PSPP. The exploratory factor analy-
sis revealed a six-factor solution for the C-PSPP instead of the
hypothesized four-factor structure. The psychometric properties
of the C-PSPP were also tested in a group of high school ath-
letes (Welk, Corbin, & Lewis, 1995). Results from the principal
component analysis revealed a clear four-factor structure,
though cross loadings existed for males on the sport compe-
tence scale.
Eklund, Whitehead, and Welk (1997) provided additional
support through a confirmatory factor analysis for the factorial
validity and the hierarchical structure of the C-PSPP. To avoid
misconceptions, because both children and youth participated in
their study, Eklund et al. (1997) called the questionnaire the
Children and Youth Physical Self-Perception Profile (CY-
PSPP). More recently, Welk and Eklund (2005) examined the
psychometric properties of the CY-PSPP among third to sixth
grade elementary students. Confirmatory factor analysis sup-
ported the factorial validity and the hierarchical structure of the
CY-PSPP model. Moreover, some evidence of invariance be-
tween genders was emerged. Convergent and predictive validity
were also supported. Similar results regarding the proposed
multidimensional and the hierarchical structure of the CY-PSPP
model across gender and grades for early adolescents were
reported by Hagger, Biddle, and Wang (2005).
Cross-cultural validation of the CY-PSPP was also con-
ducted. Hagger, Ashford, and Stambulova (1998) examined
cross-cultural differences in physical self-perceptions in a Brit-
ish and a Russian sample of children and youth. However, the
confirmatory factor analyses did not support the hypothesized
factor structure of the CY-PSPP although the factor loadings
were consistent across national groups. Raustorp, Stahle, Gu-
dasic, Kinnunen, and Mattsson (2005) adopted the CY-PSPP
for Swedish children and youth. Result showed good concur-
rent and content validity of the translated version of the CY-
PSPP and acceptable test-retest reliability over a 2-week period.
However, the factorial validity and the hierarchical structure of
the CY-PSPP were not examined in this study. The examina-
tion of a Turkish translation of the CY-PSPP (Asci, Eklund,
Whitehead, Kirazci, & Koca, 2005) did not support the six-item
per subscale structure of the CY-PSPP model. The use of four
items per subscale produced more satisfactory indexes and
provided evidence of the hierarchical relationships among these
subscales.
The CY-PSPP has been used to examine students’ physical
self-perceptions in sport and physical education. This research
has shown that students’ self-perceptions correlated with sig-
nificant outcomes. In particular, it has been found that physical
activity is associated with children and adolescent self-esteem
(Fox, 2000). Crocker, Eklund, and Kowalski (2000) found a
positive correlation between physical self-perceptions and both
boys and girls physical activity levels, although boys were
more physically active than girls and had higher perceptions of
sport competence and strength. Similar results regarding the
positive relationships between physical self-perceptions and
participation in physical activities have also been reported
(Hagger et al., 1998; Parfitt & Eston, 2005; Parfitt, Pavey, &
Rowlands, 2009; Raudsepp, Liblik, & Hannus, 2002; Welk &
Eklund, 2005). Moreover, students’ body mass index was posi-
tively correlated with children’s self-perception of body attrac-
tiveness and physical condition and the VO2 max estimation
was positively correlated with children’s self-perception of
their physical condition (Welk & Eklund, 2005).
Gender and grade differences in students’ self-perceptions
have also been reported. Adolescent males tend to report higher
physical self-perceptions than their female counterparts (White-
head & Corbin, 1997). In particular, boys compared to girls
scored higher on physical self-perceptions and in global self-
concept (Hagger et al., 2005; Welk & Eklund, 2005). Moreover,
decreases in self-concept ratings across grades were found al-
though these differences were small in size (Hagger et al.,
2005). Moreover, the CY-PSPP distinguishes between children
with low and high physical self-perception (Raustorp et al.,
2005).
The results presented above highlighted the significant inter-
relationships between students’ self-perceptions and desired
outcomes. Thus, examining students’ self-perceptions in sport
and physical education domains is of great interest. Such re-
search efforts require valid instruments to measure students’
physical self-perceptions. Previous findings have shown that
CY-PSPP is an instrument that can be used to measure children
and youths’ self-perceptions. Research evidence supported the
factorial validity of the CY-PSPP and its hierarchical structure
(Eklund et al., 1997; Hagger et al., 2005; Welk et al., 1995;
Welk & Eklund, 2005; Whitehead, 1995). However, some
mixed results (Biddle et al., 1993; Hagger et al., 1998) raise
concerns for further examination of the psychometric properties
of the CY-PSPP. Actually, the validation process of a ques-
tionnaire instrument requires an ongoing work (Fox, 2000).
Thus, psychometric properties of the CY-PSPP using different
populations should be further scrutinized.
The CY-PSPP was originally constructed and validated for
English-speaking children and youth. There is also some evi-
dence from the validation process in non-English speaking
samples (Asci et al., 2005; Hagger et al., 1998; Raustorp et al.,
2005). However, the results of these studies did not provide a
clear picture for the psychometric properties of the CY-PSPP in
non-English speaking samples. Raustorp et al. (2005) did not
examine the factorial validity and the hierarchical structure of
the CY-PSPP while Asci et al. (2005) and Hagger et al. (1998)
did not fully support the hypothesized factor structure of the
CY-PSPP. Therefore, further examination of the psychometric
properties of the CY-PSPP in non-English speaking samples is
warranted. Such research will increase our knowledge regard-
ing the utility and generality of this model (Hagger et al., 1998).
Furthermore, researchers would have the potential to examine
cross-cultural differences in children’s and youth’ self-percep-
tions and its relationships with other important outcomes such
as human well-being and motivation.
The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric
properties of the Greek version of the CY-PSPP questionnaire
(factor structure, internal consistency, temporal stability, con-
current validity, criterion-related validity, and social desirability
effect) in order to determine whether it is a useful tool for the
study of Greek students’ physical self-perceptions. It was hy-
pothesized that the Greek version of the CY-PSPP would have
a hierarchical structure with a four-factor structure (i.e., SPORT,
COND, BOBY, STREN) in the subdomain level, the PSW
factor in the domain level, and the GSW at the apex level. In
particular, it was expected that SPORT, COND, BOBY, and
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A. KOLOVELONIS ET AL.
STREN scores would explain a high percentage of the variance
of PSW which would mediate the relationship of these subdo-
main subscale scores with GSW (Hypothesis 1). These factors
were expected to have adequate internal consistency and tem-
poral stability (Hypothesis 2) and would not be correlated with
students’ score in a social desirability scale (Hypothesis 3). In
terms of concurrent validity, we expected that subscales of the
Greek version of the CY-PSPP (i.e., SPORT, BOBY, GSW)
would positively correlate with Harter’s Self-Perception Profile
for Children (SPPC) corresponding subscales (Hypothesis 4).
In terms of criterion-related validity, it was hypothesized that
students’ scores in the shuttle run test and sport participation
would correlate in expected ways with subscales of the CY-
PSPP (Hypothesis 5). Finally, boys were expected to report
higher levels of physical self-perceptions compared to girls
(Hypothesis 6) and students’ self-perception would decrease
across the grades (Hypothesis 7).
Method
Participants
Two samples with a total number of 239 fifth, sixth, and
seventh grade students participated in this study. Sample 1 con-
sisted of 27 students from fifth and sixth grade (12 boys and 15
girls, 2 classes) who completed the CY-PSPP twice with a one
week period to test its temporal stability. Sample 2 consisted of
212 students (Mage = 11.82, SDage = 1.21, 86 boys and 125
girls, 1 did not provide gender, 12 classes) from fifth grade
(Mage = 10.76, SDage = .33, 25 boys and 30 girls, 4 classes),
sixth grade (Mage = 11.72, SDage = .33, 28 boys and 49 girls,
4 classes) and seventh grade (Mage = 12.64, SDage = 1.51, 33
boys and 46 girls, 4 classes). These students came from 3
schools and completed the CY-PSPP to examine its factorial
validity by means of confirmatory factor analysis and its struc-
tural validity via structural equation modeling. Students from
sample 2 participated in additional measurements. In particular,
28 sixth grade students (9 boys and 19 girls; 2 classes) com-
pleted Harter’s (1985) SPPC to examine the concurrent validity,
and 16 fifth grade students (6 boys and 10 girls; 1 class) per-
formed the shuttle run test to examine criterion-related validity.
Finally, 47 students (19 boys and 28 girls) from sixth grade (9
boys and 18 girls; 2 classes) and seventh grade (10 boys and 10
girls; 1 class) completed the social desirability scale to examine
the social desirability effect.
Instruments
Children and Youth Physical Self-Perc e ption Profile
(CY-PSPP)
The CY-PSPP (Whitehead, 1995) measures four subdomains
of physical self-worth, namely: sports competence (SPORT),
physical conditioning (COND), body attractiveness (BOBY),
and physical strength (STREN). Three of these subscales (i.e.,
COND, BOBY, and STREN) came from the original PSPP
(Fox & Corbin, 1989) while the sport competence subscales
came from Harter (1982). Moreover, the CY-PSPP included a
global PSW (Whitehead & Corbin, 1991) and a general GSW
(Harter, 1982) scale. Each scale was assessed with six items
half of which used reversed scoring. Students responded on
4-point rating scale written in a “structured alternative format”.
First, students had to decide which of two statements relating to
how they feel in specific situations was fit to them and then to
indicate whether the statement they selected was “really true for
me” or “sort of true for me”. Higher scores reflected greater
levels of physical self-perceptions.
Self-Perception Profile for Childr e n
The sport competence, physical appearance, and self-esteem
subscales of the Greek version (Makri-Botsari & Robinson,
1991) of the Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC; Harter,
1985) were used. Each subscale consisted of five items which
were answered on 4-point rating scale written in a “structured
alternative format” using the indicators “really like me” or “sort
of like me”. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) of the
three subscales for the present study were .69, .78, and .73,
respectively.
The Social Desirability Scale (SDC; Crowne & Marlowe,
1960)
This scale consists of 10 items that were responded to an
“agree or disagree” format. Six items were positively worded
and scored 1 for the agree respond and 0 for the disagree re-
spond, and 4 items were negatively worded and scored 0 for the
agree respond and 1 for the disagree respond. Students’ scores
in SDC scale could range from 0 to 10.
Shuttle Run Test
Students’ aerobic capacity was evaluated with a shuttle run
test (Léger, Mercier, Gadoury, & Lambert, 1988). Students run
back and forth on a 20 m court touching the 20 m line at the
same time that a sound signal was emitted from a prerecorded
tape. Every minute, the frequency of the sound signals in-
creased in such a way that running speed was increased by half
kilometer per hour. When a student was no longer able to fol-
low the set pace the test stopped for him or her. The number of
successfully completed 20 m laps was each student’s score in
shuttle run test.
Sport Participation
Students responded with a “yes” or “no” the following ques-
tion: “Do you participate in out-of-school sport activities in
sport clubs (e.g., basketball, volleyball, soccer, track and field,
swimming, etc.)?” When a student responded “yes” he or she
had also to report the time of sport participation in years. This
time computed in months was each student’s score in sport
participation variable. Moreover, students were classified in
two groups as either sport participants or non-sport participants.
Procedures
The CY-PSPP (Whitehead, 1995) items were translated into
Greek by the authors and back-translated by two other bilingual
persons. The back-translated questionnaire was then compared
to the original and minor modifications were applied. The re-
sulting questionnaire was given to 2 fifth grade, 2 sixth grade,
and 3 seventh grade students in order to comment about item
comprehension. Minor modifications were applied based on
these comments. After these minor modifications, the CY-PSPP
was given to sample 1 participants twice within one week pe-
riod to test its temporal stability. Next, the CY-PSPP was given
to sample 2 participants to examine the factorial, structural,
concurrent, and criterion-related validity of the CY-PSPP, its
internal consistency and the social desirability effect. The ad-
ministration of the CY-PSPP took place in classroom settings
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A. KOLOVELONIS ET AL.
Open Access 161
by two of the authors and two trained assistants. Permission to
administer the scale was obtained from the Greek Ministry of
Education and Religious Affairs and the school principals. Stu-
dents participated voluntarily after a parental consent was ob-
tained, they were assured about the confidentiality of their an-
swers and they were told that there was no right or wrong an-
swers. The shuttle run test was conducted during regular physi-
cal education lessons by the school physical education teacher
and with the assistance of one of the authors.
Statistical Analyses
Descriptive statistics and correlations among variables were
calculated. EQS program (Bentler, 2006; version 6.1 for win-
dows) was used to examine the hypothesized six-factor solution
of the CY-PSPP measurement model through a confirmatory
factor analysis. Moreover, the hypothesized hierarchical struc-
ture among of the CY-PSPP subscales proposed by Fox and
Corbin (1989) was examined (Model A; see Hypothesis 1).
Two alternatives models were also tested (Sonstroem, Harlow,
& Josephs, 1994). In Model B, in addition to all of the paths
hypothesized in Model A, direct paths from SPORT, COND,
BOBY, and STREN to GSW were hypothesized. Model C in-
cluded the all the paths of Model B except of the path from
PSW to GSW. The following indices of fit were used: a) the χ2,
b) the Nonnormed Fit Index (NNFI), c) the Comparative Fit
Index (CFI), and d) the Root Mean Square Error of Approxima-
tion (RMSEA). The RMSEA 90% confidence intervals were
also provided. NNFI and CFI values above .90 and .95 are con-
sidered to reflect acceptable and excellent fits to the data, re-
spectively (Hoyle & Panter, 1995; Hu & Bentler, 1999).
RMSEA values of less than .05 and .08 are considered to reflect
a close and an acceptable fit, respectively (Browne & Cudeck,
1993). Considering that the CY-PSPP data in the present study
exhibited multivariate kurtosis (Mardia’s normalized estimate =
41.03) reported values of the fit indices (i.e., χ2, NNFI, CFI,
RMSEA) were estimated using the robust method (Bentler,
2006; Satorra & Bentler, 1994). Finally, a two-way Manova
was conducted to examine gender and grade differences in
students’ scores in the CY-PSPP subscales.
Results
Descriptive statistics and correlation among variables are
presented in Table 1.
Structural Validity
Confirmatory factor analysis showed an adequate model fit,
χ2 (579, N = 205) = 764.66, p < .001, NNFI = .921, CFI = .927,
RMSEA = .040 (90% CI: .032 - .047) of the six-factor solution
of the CY-PSPP measurement model. The CFI and NNFI in-
dexes exceeded the .90 and RMSEA value was below .05 crite-
rions indicating an adequate overall fit of the model to the data.
All items loaded on their designated factors (range .49 - .81,
average factor loadings: .63). Inter correlations among latent
factor were moderate (range: .20 - .51; Table 1).
Results of the structural analyses supported the hypothesized
hierarchical relationship among the CY-PSPP subscales show-
ing that the Model A fit well to the data, χ2 (583, N = 205) =
618.72, p = .15, NNFI = .985, CFI = .986, RMSEA = .017
(90% CI: .00 - .029). The CFI and NNFI indexes exceeded
the .95 and RMSEA value was below .05 criterions indicating
an excellent fit of the model to the data. Structural loadings for
the subdomain constructs (i.e., SPORT, COND, BOBY,
STREN) on PSW were .38, .42, 1.15, .16, respectively (all sig-
nificant; p < .001). Moreover, PSW loaded strongly on the
GSW (.82, p < .001).
Two alternatives structural models were also tested. In par-
ticular, Model B did not fit well to the data, χ2 (579, N = 205) =
1029.72, p < .001, NNFI = .844, CFI = .857, RMSEA = .062
(90% CI: .055 - .068). Similarly, the fit of the Model C to the
data was inadequate, χ2 (580, N = 205) = 1029.77, p < .001,
NNFI = .845, CFI = .857, RMSEA = .062 (90% CI: .055
- .068).
Internal Consistency and Temporal Stability
Cronbach’s alpha for all CY-PSPP subscales were satisfac-
tory (i.e., SPORT: .76, COND: .79, BOBY: .82, STREN: .76,
PSW: .88, GSW: .75). To examine the CY-PSPP temporal sta-
Table 1.
Descriptives and correlations among the variables of the study.
Descriptives Correlations
M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1. CYPSPP-SPORT 3.03 .68 -
2. CYPSPP-COND 3.18 .65 .36* -
3. CYPSPP-BODY 2.81 .77 .22* .29* -
4. CYPSPP-STREN 2.79 .64 .31* .30* .23* -
5. CYPSPP-PSW 2.96 .86 .23* .30* .51* .26* -
6. CYPSPP-GSW 3.24 .65 .20* .26* .31* .20* .40* -
7. SPPC-SC 3.33 .56 .82** .51** .08 .73** .12 .52** -
8. SPPC-PA 2.99 .77 .03 .18 .60** .25 .69** .53** .15 -
9. SPPC-SE 3.45 .53 .46* .44* .32 .46* .34 .51** .54** .49** -
10. Shuttle Run 32.94 11.28 .60* .63* .57* .65** .60* .59* - - - -
11. Sport Participation 37.88 31.87 .08 .17 .08 .19* .08 .13 .57** .12 .29 .39
Note: *Significant correlation at .05 level, **Significant correlation at .01 level. SPPC-SC: Harter’s SPPC Sport Competence subscale, SPPC-PA: Harter’s SPPC Physical
Appearance subscale, SPPC-SE: Harter’s SPPC Self-Esteem subscale.

A. KOLOVELONIS ET AL.
bility, twenty seven students (Sample 1) completed the ques-
tionnaire twice within one week. Intra class correlation coeffi-
cients were satisfactory for all CY-PSPP subscales (i.e.,
SPORT: .78, p < .001, COND: .79, p < .001, BOBY: .69, p
< .001, STREN: .86, p < .001, PSW: .82, p < .001, GSW: .71, p
< .001).
Concurrent Validity
Correlations between the six subscales of the CY-PSPP and
the three subscales of Harter’s PSPC are presented in Table 1.
All correlations were in the expected direction. In particular,
the SPORT, BOBY, and GSW subscales of the CY-PSPP were
positively correlated with the corresponding subscales of
Harter’s SPPC (r: .82, .60, .51, respectively).
Criterion-Related Validity
Correlations between the CY-PSPP subscales and students’
score in the shuttle run test and the time participating in sports
are presented in Table 1. Students’ scores in the shuttle run test
were positively correlated with all CY-PSPP subscales while
students’ sport participation time was positively correlated with
STREN (r: .19). Moreover, the one way Manova with sport
participation (participants vs non-participants) as independent
variable and students scores in the CY-PSPP subscales as the
dependent variables, showed a significant multivariate effect, F
(6, 187) = 2.11, p = .054, partial η2 = .063. Univariate tests
showed that students who participated in sports compared to
those who did not participate scored significantly higher in
SPORT, F (1, 192) = 4.41, p = .037, partial η2 = .022, in COND,
F (1, 192) = 5.48, p = .020, partial η2 = .028, in STREN, F (1,
192) = 9.50, p = .002, partial η2 = .047, and in GSW, F (1, 192)
= 5.87, p = .017, partial η2 = .029.
Social Desirability Effect
Correlations between the CY-PSPP subscales (i.e., SPORT,
COND, BOBY, STREN, PSW, GSW) and students’ scores in
the SDS (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960) were all nonsignificant
(r: .02, .19, −.15, −.10, −.07, −.11, respectively).
Gender and Grade Differences
To examine potential differences in students’ scores in the
CY-PSPP subscales across gender and grades, a 2 (gender) × 3
(grade) Manova was conducted. Results showed a significant
multivariate main effect for grade, F (12, 388) = 2.26, p = .009,
partial η2 = .065. The gender and grade interaction and the main
effect for gender were nonsignificant. Univariate tests showed
significant differences between three grades in BOBY, F (2,
198) = 6.53, p = .002, partial η2 = .062, and PSW, F (2, 198) =
3.25, p = .010, partial η2 = .045. Post hoc analyses showed that
fifth grade students scored higher in these two scales compared
to seventh grade students.
Discussion
The aim of this study was to examine key psychometric
properties of the Greek version of the CY-PSPP questionnaire.
In particular, the factor structure, the internal consistency, the
temporal stability, the concurrent and the criterion validity of
the CY-PSPP were examined. The present study confirmed the
six-factor structure of the CY-PSPP scores as well as the hy-
pothesized hierarchical structure among the subscales of this
questionnaire. Moreover, supportive evidence for the internal
consistency, the temporal stability, the concurrentand the crite-
rion validity of the CY-PSPP were emerged. Students’ scores in
the CY-PSPP were not susceptible in the social desirability
effect. Therefore, the Greek version of the CY-PSPP had ade-
quate psychometric properties and, thus, can be used in re-
search with Greek students.
More specifically, results from the confirmatory factor analy-
ses supported Hypothesis 1 by showing a clear six-factor solu-
tion for the Greek version of the CY-PSPP. Moreover, results
supported the hypothesized hierarchical structure of the Greek
version of the CY-PSPP. In particular, the four subdomains of
the CY-PSPP (i.e., SPORT, COND, BOBY, STREN) were
hierarchically related to more global perceptions of physical
self-worth and the global self-worth or self-esteem was located
at the apex of this hierarchical model. The two alternatives
models that hypothesized direct paths from the four subdo-
mains of the CY-PSPP to GSW (Model B) and the elimination
of the mediating role of PSW between the four subdomains of
the CY-PSPP and the GSW (Model C) was not fit well to the
data. Thus, the present findings are consistent with theoretical
and empirical evidence regarding the multidimensional and
hierarchical structure of physical self-perceptions (Eklund et al.,
1997; Fox, 2000; Fox & Corbin, 1989; Hagger et al., 2005;
Welk et al., 1995; Welk & Eklund, 2005; Whitehead, 1995).
Furthermore, the six subscales of the CY-PSPP had satisfac-
tory internal consistency and found to be stable over a period of
one week, supporting Hypothesis 2. Moreover, the CY-PSPP
subscales did not correlate with a social desirability scale sup-
porting Hypothesis 3 and showing that students’ scores in the
CY-PSPP were not susceptible to social desirability effect.
Hypothesis 4 regarding the concurrent validity of the CY-
PSPP was verified. The subscales of the CY-PSPP correlated in
meaningful ways with corresponding subscales of the Harter’s
(1985) SPPC. In particular, the SPORT, BOBY, and GSW
subscales of the CY-PSPP were positively correlated with the
corresponding subscales of Harter’s SPPC. These findings pro-
vided supportive evidence for the concurrent validity of the
CY-PSPP, an issue that previous research had not addressed
(Eklund et al., 1997; Hagger et al., 2005; Welk et al., 1995;
Welk & Eklund, 2005; Whitehead, 1995).
Results have also supported Hypothesis 5 regarding the cri-
terion-related validity of the CY-PSPP. Several indices to ex-
amine the criterion-related validity of the CY-PSPP were used.
In particular, students’ scores in the shuttle run test were posi-
tively correlated with all CY-PSPP subscales. Finally, students’
sport participation time was positively correlated (r: .19) with
STREN and comparisons between sport participants and non-
sport participants revealed that students who participated in
sports scored significantly higher in SPORT, COND, STREN,
and GSW. However, the size of these differences was relative
small. Collectively, all these results are consistent with previ-
ous findings (Crocker et al., 2000; Hagger et al., 1998; Welk &
Eklund, 2005) supporting the criterion validity of the CY-
PSPP.
Contrary to Hypothesis 7, boys and girls reported similar
levels of physical self-perceptions. Previous research has shown
that boys compared to girls scored higher on physical self-per-
ceptions and global self-concept (Hagger et al., 2005; Welk &
Eklund, 2005). The present findings did not support this result.
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A. KOLOVELONIS ET AL.
On the other hand, there is evidence to support the structural
invariance of physical self-perceptions across gender (Welk &
Eklund, 2005; Hagger et al., 2005). However, in the present
study the sample size was relative small to examine this issue.
Future research should further explore Greek boys and girls
self-perceptions examining the invariance of the CY-PSPP
across gender.
Hypothesis 8 was partially supported. Students’ self-percep-
tion in BOBY and PSW decreased across grades. Fifth grade
students reported higher levels of self-perceptions in these two
scales compared to seventh grade students. This result is con-
sistent with previous findings that students’ scores in self-per-
ceptions decreased across grades (Hagger et al., 2005; White-
head, 1995). However, in both the present study and the previ-
ous ones, these differences were found in some and not all of
the CY-PSPP subscales and were relative small in size. More-
over, considering the cross-sectional nature of these compari-
sons, further examination of the differences in physical self-
perceptions across grades using longitudinal designs should be
conducted.
Taken together all these results attest to the validity and reli-
ability of the Greek version of the CY-PSPP as well as to its
hierarchical structure. Furthermore, the present findings pro-
vided evidence for the psychometric properties of the CY-PSPP
in non-English speaking students. Previous efforts to validate
the CY-PSPP in other cultures were either not fully supportive
of the hypothesized factor structure of the CY-PSPP (Asci et al.,
2005; Hagger et al., 1998) or they did not examine its factorial
and structural validity (e.g., Raustorp et al., 2005). The Greek
version of the CY-PSPP showed adequate psychometric prop-
erties and, thus, this instrument can be used in research with
Greek children and adolescents.
Applications of the Greek version of the CY-PSPP could in-
clude the examination of children’s and youth’s self-percep-
tions in sport and physical education and the potential correla-
tions of these self-perceptions with other significant outcomes
such as physical activity, BMI, sport participation, and psycho-
logical well-being. Moreover, cross-cultural differences in
children’s and youth’s physical self-perceptions should be ex-
amined and interventions programs to enhance students’ self-
perceptions can be evaluated through the use of the CY-PSPP.
Furthermore, associations between students’ self-perceptions
and their efforts to self-regulate their learning and performance
in sport and physical education should be examined. Recent
research in physical education has shown that students can
self-regulate their learning and performance with positive re-
sults (Goudas, Kolovelonis, & Dermitzaki, 2013; Kolovelonis,
Goudas, Hassandra, & Dermitzaki, 2012). However, it is has
not been examined if physical self-perceptions affect students’
efforts to successfully self-regulate their learning and perform-
ance.
Limitations
Limitations of this study should be acknowledged. The sam-
ple size did not permit the examination of the gender invariance
of the CY-PSPP factor structure. Thus, future research should
involve larger samples to examine the invariance of the CY-
PSPP factor structure across gender and grades (Hagger et al.,
2005). Moreover, the examination of the invariance of the CY-
PSPP factor structure across sport and non-sport participants
would increase our knowledge regarding the structure of chil-
dren’s and youth’s physical self-perception in these different
populations. Finally, the cross-cultural validation of the CY-
PSPP should be continued using populations with diverse char-
acteristics from different cultures in order to expand the validity
evidence base for this measure.
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