Affiliations: Institut für Medizinische Psychologie,
Universität Greifswald | Pädagogisches Seminar, Universität
Göttingen
Note: [] Korrespondenzadresse: PD Dr. Dr. Ulrich Wiesmann, Institut
für Medizinische Psychologie, Universität Greifswald,
Walther-Rathenau-Straße 48, D-17487 Greifswald. Tel.: 03834 865603; Fax:
03834 865605; E-mail: wiesmann@uni-greifswald.de
Abstract: Objectives: Aim of this study is the validation of the I AM I, a
pictorial questionnaire for the assessment of subjective well-being in
elementary school children. Aspects of content validity and construct validity
are examined. Method: The analyses are based on interviews (oral or in writing)
of 495 children and their parents. The validation instruments for the children
were the KINDL® and the Harter Self-Esteem-scale; parents filled out a proxy
version of the I AM I, the internalizing-subscale of the Child Behavior
Checklist, and a school performance appraisal form. Results: A principal
component analysis of the I AM I revealed four dimensions: self-esteem,
physical-emotional well-being, school perception, and social integration. The
dimensions were moderately related to equivalent KINDL®-subscales and the
Harter-Scale. Parents' evaluations significantly corresponded to
the children's self-reports; however, their associations were much
lower. A principal component analysis on all sum-scores of instruments used
yielded a two-dimensional solution, with children and parent appraisals loading
on different components. Discussion: The content validity and construct
validity of the I AM I were empirically corroborated. The I AM I is a new
questionnaire appropriately designed for children, which shows satisfactory
convergent validity with existing instruments. Its associations, however, are
not so large to appear redundant.
Keywords: Subjective well-being, self esteem, elementary school children, diagnostics
