Generalizability of the PSDQ and its relationship to physical fitness: The European French connection

Two studies tested the generalizability of support for within- and between-construct validity based on responses to a French translation of the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ) by high school students. The PSDQ is a multidimensional physical self-concept instrument designed to measure 11 components: health, coordination, physical activity, body fat, sports competence, global physical, appearance, strength, flexibility, endurance, and esteem. In the first study (N = 752), preliminary reliability analysis revealed strong internal consistency and overall stability. Confirmatory factor analysis provided support for structural equivalence with the original instrument. In the second study (N = 288), PSDQ factors were related to 13 external criteria of physical fitness; each was predicted a priori to be most highly correlated with one of the PSDQ scales. Bivariate correlations and CFA models supported both the convergent and discriminant validity of the PSDQ responses. These overall results demonstrated good support for the generalizability of the PSDQ with French adolescents

Construct validation of the Self-Description Questionnaire II with a French sample

This investigation is a French validation of the Self-Description Questionnaire (SDQ) II, an instrument derived from the Marsh and Shavelson model and designed to measure adolescent self-concept. Previous theoretical and methodological considerations in SDQ research provided guidelines for the instrument "within-construct" validity. 480 students completed the questionnaire. Reliability and confirmatory factor analyses were used to demonstrate support for the good psychometric properties, the well-defined 11 facets of the multidimensional self-concept, the two remarkably distinct higher order academic areas, and the weak hierarchical ordering. Third-order HCFA models resulted in a hierarchical general self-concept modestly related to most nonacademic self-concepts and rather weakly to academic self-concepts. The present research strongly supports the multifaceted nature of self-concept, but cannot supply clear evidence for the usefulness of hierarchical representations of adolescent self-concept

Achievement goals and perceived ability predict investment in learning a sport task

International audienceTwo studies examined the predictive value of achievement goals on the investment in learning a sport task. Ss were aged 13-15 yrs and attended schools in northern France. In Study 1, 57 Ss prepared themselves for a sport task with a 5-min period of training. In Study 2, 99 Ss prepared themselves with a 5-min period of training after prior failure. Results of Study 1 show that Ss who were ego-involved with a low perceived ability had a weaker investment in the training situation than Ss ego-involved with a high perceived ability, or Ss task-involved regardless of their perceived ability. Ego-involved Ss used an attributional bias to minimize the effect of effort on performance. Study 2 confirmed these results by underlining the motivational deficits of ego involvement for those with a low perceived ability. Pupils with high ego involvement in a sport task and low perceived ability show motivational deficits which manifest themselves in less time spent on practicing a task. A social-cognitive and expectancy-value perspective appears to be valid for the study of motivational processes in school physical education

Goal orientations and conceptions of the nature of sport ability in children: A social cognitive approach

International audienceTwo studies investigated the links between goal orientations and conceptions of sport ability. In Study 1, 194 English children (aged 11-12 yrs) completed a psychological inventory which included questions on achievement goal choice and perceptions of the nature of sport ability. In Study 2, 304 French children (aged 11-17 yrs) completed questionnaires, including the French version of the Perception of Success Questionnaire and the Conception of the Nature of Athletic Ability Questionnaire. Clear relationships were observed between a social comparison goal and a conception of athletic ability as a "gift" and being "general," and between a task mastery goal and the conception of athletic ability as being incremental and determined by learning. The measuring of the causal links that unite goals and ability conceptions, as well as the likely impact of such conceptions on motivation were developed and discussed

Development of scales to measure perceived physical education class climate: A cross-national project

International audienceUsed social cognitive theory as a base to report the development of class climate scales in French and English for use in physical education classes. Ss were 311 Parisian students aged 13-16 yrs. Psychometric development with the French scale was shown to be satisfactory, including adequate factorial structure assessed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and good internal and test-retest reliability. A parallel English scale (translated version) demonstrated a less adequate fit to the proposed model when using CFA, but shortened scales that assessed just mastery and performance dimensions of climate were shown to predict important motivational measures in a structural equation modeling analysis