Assessing Young Children's Views of Their Academic, Social, and Emotional Lives: An Evaluation of the Self‐Perception Scales of the Berkeley Puppet Interview

Abstract

o w a n , and C a r o l y n P . C o w a n In a prospective, longitudinal study we examined the psychometric properties of the self-perception scales of the Berkeley Puppet Interview (BPI). A total sample of 97 young children were assessed with the BPI at 3 time points: preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. The BPI assesses young children's self-perceptions of their school adjustment in 6 domains: academic competence, achievement motivation, social competence, peer acceptance, depression-anxiety, and aggression-hostility. Results showed that 4%-to 71/z-year-olds possess a multidimensional self-concept that can be reliably measured and that the BPI is sensitive to normative changes and individual differences in young boys' and girls' views of themselves. Support for the method's validity was derived from consistent and meaningful patterns of convergence between children's self-perceptions and ratings by adult informants-mothers, fathers, and teachers-as well as standardized test scores. In fact, in this study, the concordance between young children's self-reports and parallel ratings by teachers or mothers were consistently as strong as if not stronger than the concordance between mothers' and teachers' ratings.

Kindergarteners’ Self-Reported Social Inhibition and Observed Social Reticence: Moderation by Adult-Reported Social Inhibition and Social Anxiety Disorder Symptoms

“…A second PCA revealed that all items loaded at or above .48 on a single component explaining 43.72% of the variance. The alpha for the current study is consistent with internal consistency found with kindergarteners in the validation study of the BPI (alphas = .63 to .78, Measelle et al, 1998). Therefore, the mean of the remaining five items comprised the final variable of self-reported social inhibition.…”

“…The puppets alternated in terms of which one spoke first and which on offered positively versus negatively valenced items in order to avoid the child forming an alliance with one puppet. The BPI has previously been shown to be a reliable and valid measure, with subscales relating to similar scales reported by parents and teachers (Measelle et al, 1998). Questions about a variety of behaviors were asked, although the Social Inhibition scale was the focus of the current study.…”

“…Staff mailed a consent form and battery of questionnaires (including a parent-report measure of the child’s social inhibition) to be completed by the parent prior to the visit (typically within one week), at which children would provide self-report on their social inhibition. Specifically, the child completed the Berkeley Puppet Interview (BPI; Measelle, Ablow, Cowan, & Cowan, 1998), during which she or he reported on socially inhibited behaviors. The parent(s) accompanying the child remained in another room during the interview so as not to influence the child’s report, but the child was able to ask for breaks to check in with the parent.…”

Assessing social-emotional development in children from a longitudinal perspective

“…Sociometric ratings performed by children’s peers can also begin to be used in this stage of development, when peer views of social competence become both possible and useful 43. Finally, the social scales of the Berkeley Puppet Interview (ie, peer acceptance and rejection, bullied by peers, asocial with peers, social inhibition, over-aggression/hostility, relational aggression, prosocial behaviour) give the child’s own view of his/her social competence 44. These last three measures add important additional information to that obtained from parental report.…”

“…Preschool children begin to show differentiated self-perceptions (table 1) which could be assessed with the Berkeley Puppet Interview 44. For example, the academic scales of the Berkeley Puppet Interview can be administered in one more 20 min interval to form—along with the Berkeley Puppet Interview scales already administered regarding self-perceived social competence—a complete evaluation of self-perceived competence.…”