How Valid Are Measures of Children’s Self-Concept/ Self-Esteem? Factors and Content Validity in Three Widely Used Scales

Children’s self-esteem/self-concept, a core psychological construct, has been measured in an overwhelming number of studies, and the widespread use of such measures should indicate they have well-established content validity, internal consistency and factor structures. This study, sampling a demographically representative cohort in late childhood/early adolescence in Dublin, Ireland (total n = 651), examined three major self-esteem/self-concept scales designed for late childhood/early adolescence: Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale for Children 2 (Piers et al. 2002), Self-Description Questionnaire I (Marsh 1992) and Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter 1985). It also examined findings in light of the salient self factors identified by participants in a linked mixed-methods study. The factor structure of Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale was not replicated. The Self-Description Questionnaire I and Self-Perception Profile for Children were replicated only in part although in similar ways. In all three scales, a global/ appearance self evaluation factor accounted for the largest variance in factor analyses. Sport/athletic ability, school ability, school enjoyment, maths and reading ability/enjoyment, behaviour, peer popularity, and parent factors were also identified but did not always reflect existing scale structures. Notably, the factors extracted, or items present in these scales, often did not reflect young people’s priorities, such as friendship over popularity, the importance of family and extended family members, and the significance of incremental personal mastery in activities rather than assessing oneself as comparatively good at preferred activities. The findings raise questions about how self-esteem/self-concept scales are used and interpreted in research with children and young people

A smartphone intervention for adolescent obesity: study protocol for a randomised controlled non-inferiority trial

Background There are few evidence-based mobile health solutions for treating adolescent obesity. The primary aim of this parallel non-inferiority trial is to assess the effectiveness of an experimental smartphone application in reducing obesity at 12 months, compared to the Temple Street W82GO Healthy Lifestyles intervention. Methods/design The primary outcome measure is change in body mass index standardised deviation score at 12 months. The secondary aim is to compare the effect of treatment on secondary outcomes, including waist circumference, insulin sensitivity, quality of life, physical activity and psychosocial health. Adolescents with a body mass index at or above the 98th percentile (12 to 17 years) will be recruited from the Obesity clinic at Temple Street Children’s University Hospital in Dublin, Ireland. W82GO is a family-based lifestyle change intervention delivered in two phases over 12 months. In the current study, participants will be randomised for phase two of treatment to either usual care or care delivered via smartphone application. One hundred and thirty-four participants will be randomised between the two study arms. An intention-to-treat analysis will be used to compare treatment differences between the groups at 12 months. Discussion The results of this study will be disseminated via open access publication and will provide important information for clinicians, patients and policy makers regarding the use of mobile health interventions in the management of adolescent obesity. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01804855

Development and validation of the Australian Aboriginal racial identity and self-esteem survey for 8-12 year old children (IRISE-C)

Introduction: In Australia, there is little empirical research of the racial identity of Indigenous children and youth as the majority of the current literature focuses on adults. Furthermore, there are no instruments developed with cultural appropriateness when exploring the identity and self-esteem of the Australian Aboriginal population, especially children. The IRISE-C (Racial Identity and Self-Esteem of children) inventory was developed to explore the elements of racial identity and self-esteem of urban, rural and regional Aboriginal children. This paper describes the development and validation of the IRISE-C instrument with over 250 Aboriginal children aged 8 to 12 years. Methods: A pilot of the IRISE C instrument was combined with individual interviews and was undertaken with 35 urban Aboriginal children aged 8-12 years. An exploratory factor analysis was performed to refine the survey and reduce redundant items in readiness for the main study. In the main study, the IRISE C was employed to 229 Aboriginal children aged 6-13 years across three sites (rural, regional and urban) in Western Australia. An exploratory factor analysis using Principal axis factoring was used to assess the fit of items and survey structure. A confirmatory factor analysis was then employed using LISREL (diagonally weighted least squares) to assess factor structures across domains. Internal consistency and reliability of subscales were assessed using Cronbach's co-efficient alpha. Results: The pilot testing identified two key concepts - children's knowledge of issues related to their racial identity, and the importance, or salience, that they attach to these issues. In the main study, factor analyses showed two clear factors relating to: Aboriginal culture and traditions; and a sense of belonging to an Aboriginal community. Principal Axis Factoring of the Knowledge items supported a 2-factor solution, which explained 38.7 % of variance. Factor One (Aboriginal culture) had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.835; Factor 2 (racial identity) had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.800, thus demonstrating high internal reliability of the scales. Conclusion: The IRISE-C has been shown to be a valid instrument useful of exploring the development of racial identity of Australian Aboriginal children across the 8-12 year old age range and across urban, rural and regional geographical locations

Health related quality of life measure in systemic pediatric rheumatic diseases and its translation to different languages: an international collaboration

Background: Rheumatic diseases in children are associated with significant morbidity and poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL). There is no health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scale available specifically for children with less common rheumatic diseases. These diseases share several features with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) such as their chronic episodic nature, multi-systemic involvement, and the need for immunosuppressive medications. HRQOL scale developed for pediatric SLE will likely be applicable to children with systemic inflammatory diseases.Findings: We adapted Simple Measure of Impact of Lupus Erythematosus in Youngsters (SMILEY (c)) to Simple Measure of Impact of Illness in Youngsters (SMILY (c)-Illness) and had it reviewed by pediatric rheumatologists for its appropriateness and cultural suitability. We tested SMILY (c)-Illness in patients with inflammatory rheumatic diseases and then translated it into 28 languages. Nineteen children (79% female, n= 15) and 17 parents participated. the mean age was 12 +/- 4 years, with median disease duration of 21 months (1-172 months). We translated SMILY (c)-Illness into the following 28 languages: Danish, Dutch, French (France), English (UK), German (Germany), German (Austria), German (Switzerland), Hebrew, Italian, Portuguese (Brazil), Slovene, Spanish (USA and Puerto Rico), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Argentina), Spanish (Mexico), Spanish (Venezuela), Turkish, Afrikaans, Arabic (Saudi Arabia), Arabic (Egypt), Czech, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Japanese, Romanian, Serbian and Xhosa.Conclusion: SMILY (c)-Illness is a brief, easy to administer and score HRQOL scale for children with systemic rheumatic diseases. It is suitable for use across different age groups and literacy levels. SMILY (c)-Illness with its available translations may be used as useful adjuncts to clinical practice and research.Rutgers State Univ, Robert Wood Johnson Med Sch, New Brunswick, NJ 08903 USARutgers State Univ, Child Hlth Inst New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901 USAHosp Special Surg, New York, NY 10021 USAUniv Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USARed Cross War Mem Childrens Hosp, Cape Town, South AfricaAin Shams Univ, Pediat Allergy Immunol & Rheumatol Unit, Cairo, EgyptAin Shams Univ, Pediat Rheumatol Pediat Allergy Immunol & Rheum, Cairo, EgyptKing Faisal Specialist Hosp & Res Ctr, Riyadh 11211, Saudi ArabiaCharles Univ Prague, Prague, Czech RepublicGen Univ Hosp, Prague, Czech RepublicUniv Hosp Motol, Dept Pediat, Prague, Czech RepublicAarhus Univ, Hosp Skejby, Aarhus, DenmarkRigshosp, Juliane Marie Ctr, DK-2100 Copenhagen, DenmarkUniv Med Ctr, Dept Pediat Immunol, Utrecht, NetherlandsWilhelmina Childrens Hosp, Utrecht, NetherlandsGreat Ormond St Hosp Sick Children, Children NHS Fdn Trust, Renal Unit, London, EnglandLyon Univ, Hosp Civils Lyon, Rheumatol & Dermatol Dept, Lyon, FranceMed Univ Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, AustriaPrim Univ Doz, Bregenz, AustriaHamburg Ctr Pediat & Adolescence Rheumatol, Hamburg, GermanyAsklepios Clin Sankt, Augustin, GermanyUniv Zurich, Childrens Hosp, Zurich, SwitzerlandAristotle Univ Thessaloniki, Pediat Immunol & Rheumatol Referral Ctr, GR-54006 Thessaloniki, GreeceIsrael Meir Hosp, Kefar Sava, IsraelSanjay Gandhi Postgrad Inst Med Sci, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, IndiaSemmelweis Univ, H-1085 Budapest, HungaryAnna Meyer Hosp, Florence, ItalyUniv Siena, Res Ctr System Autoimmune & Autoinflammatory Dis, I-53100 Siena, ItalyUniv Florence, Florence, ItalyOsped Pediat Bambino Gesu, IRCCS, Pediat Rheumatol Unit, Rome, ItalyUniv Genoa Pediat II Reumatol, Ist G Gaslini EULAR, Ctr Excellence Rheumatol, Genoa, ItalyUniv Cattolica Sacro Cuore, Inst Pediat, Rome, ItalyUniv Padua, Dept Pediat, Pediat Rheumatol Unit, Padua, ItalyYokohama City Univ, Sch Med, Yokohama, Kanagawa 232, JapanUniv Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Botucatu, SP, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Pediat, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Estadual Campinas, Dept Med, Campinas, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Dept Pediat, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilUniv Estado do, Adolescent Hlth Care Unit, Div Pediat Rheumatol, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Fac Med, Childrens Inst, Dept Pediat,Pediat Rheumatol Unit, São Paulo, BrazilChildrens Inst, Pediat Rheumatol Unit, São Paulo, BrazilClin Pediat I, Cluj Napoca, RomaniaInst Rheumatol, Belgrade, SerbiaUniv Childrens Hosp, Univ Med Ctr Ljubljana, Ljubljana, SloveniaHead Rheumatol Hosp Pedro Elizalde, Buenos Aires, DF, ArgentinaHosp Gen Mexico City, Mexico City, DF, MexicoHosp Infantil Mexico Fed Gomez, Mexico City, DF, MexicoHosp San Juan Dios, Barcelona, SpainHosp Univ Valle Hebron, Barcelona, SpainMt Sinai Med Ctr, New York, NY 10029 USAMt Sinai Med Ctr, Miami Beach, FL 33140 USAComplejo Hosp Univ Ruiz & Paez, Bolivar, VenezuelaHacettepe Univ, Dept Pediat, Ankara, TurkeyIstanbul Univ, Cerrahpasa Med Sch, Istanbul, TurkeyFMF Arthrit Vasculitis & Orphan Dis Res Ctr, Inst Hlth Sci, Ankara, TurkeyUniv Calgary, Dept Pediat, Alberta Childrens Hosp, Res Inst, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, CanadaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Pediat, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

A Randomized Controlled Study of Parent-assisted Children’s Friendship Training with Children having Autism Spectrum Disorders

This study evaluated Children’s Friendship Training (CFT), a manualized parent-assisted intervention to improve social skills among second to fifth grade children with autism spectrum disorders. Comparison was made with a delayed treatment control group (DTC). Targeted skills included conversational skills, peer entry skills, developing friendship networks, good sportsmanship, good host behavior during play dates, and handling teasing. At post-testing, the CFT group was superior to the DTC group on parent measures of social skill and play date behavior, and child measures of popularity and loneliness, At 3-month follow-up, parent measures showed significant improvement from baseline. Post-hoc analysis indicated more than 87% of children receiving CFT showed reliable change on at least one measure at post-test and 66.7% after 3 months follow-up

Self-esteem in adolescent patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder during open-label atomoxetine treatment: psychometric evaluation of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and clinical findings

To report on (1) psychometric properties of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES) studied in adolescents with ADHD, (2) correlations of SES with ADHD scale scores, and (3) change in patient-reported self-esteem with atomoxetine treatment. ADHD patients (12–17 years), treated in an open-label study for 24 weeks. Secondary analyses on ADHD symptoms (assessed with ADHD-RS, CGI, GIPD scales) and self-esteem (SES) were performed. One hundred and fifty-nine patients were treated. A dichotomous structure of the SES could be confirmed. Reliability and internal consistency were moderate to excellent. Highest coefficients were found for the correlation between SES and GIPD scores. Self-esteem significantly increased over time, accompanied by an improvement of ADHD symptoms and related perceived difficulties. The Rosenberg SES was shown to be internally consistent, reliable, and sensitive to treatment-related changes of self-esteem. According to these findings, self-esteem may be an important individual patient outcome beyond the core symptoms of ADHD