Piers-Harris 2 Children Self Concept Scale Rochelle Florence Latara Salisbury EDUC 622 Test Review 1

Piers-Children’s Harris 2 self-concept scale Authors: Ellen V. Piers, David S. Herzberg, and Dale B. Harris Publish: November 2003 2nd edition Publisher: Western Psychological Services

Purpose of Test To assess a respondent’s overall self concept, how they view themselves and their behavior. provides an overall view of an individual’s self-perception and helps identify children, adolescents, and teenagers who may require further testing and possibly treatment

What is Self-Concept? A relatively stable set of attitudes reflecting both description and evaluation of one’s own behavior and attributes.

Features of the test The Piers-Harris 2 consists of a 60-item self-report questionnaire prompting yes/no answers to “25 positively and 35 negatively phrased items presented as first person declarative statements. It also examines their consideration of another person’s perspectives of themselves.

THE 6 SUBSCALES • Intellectual and School Status (INT) • Physical Appearance and Attributes (PHY) • Intellectual and School Status (INT) • Happiness and Satisfaction (HAP) • Freedom From Anxiety (FRE) • Behavioral Adjustment (BEH) • Popularity (POP) Measures child appraisal of his/hers personal appearance. Self assessment on intellectual/academic abilities Feelings of happiness and satisfaction with life. Assess anxiety and mood. Measures admission or denial of behaviors Evaluates social functioning

Age Range Must be at least 7 years old and have a 2nd grade reading level. Test can be used up to 18 years old.

Examiner Qualifications Must have background knowledge in principals of psychological measure. Must be familiar with standardized procedures and psychometric properties of the Piers- Harris. Must be able to integrate Piers-Harris 2 findings with other clinical data.

Available Scores Standard Scores Common Standard Score Primary Standard Score

Instrument Technical data Reliability: Internal consistency, test/retest reliability, Validity: Content validity, Construct validity, and Convergent validity.

Administration and scoring time No time limit for students to take test. 15-20 minutes approximately to complete the assessment.

Scoring features . The instrument consists of a Total Score (TOT) that communicates the overall essence of self-concept while the six domain scores and validity scales provide a more interpretive analysis. It includes two validity scales: inconsistent responding (INC) and response bias (RES) to distinguish chance and exaggerated response.

Scoring features cont. • Variety of methods of scoring: Auto-Score (with carbon), mail-in, fax-in, and computerized. • Plotting the profile on the graph provides easy to see results and progress. • Step-by-Step directions on how to score manual provides clear information on what the scores mean

features of the instrument that are well-designed and easy-to-follow •Provides support specialize application of the test which are located in the back of the manual. •Simple self-reporting with yes or no format.

Adaptation for limited English Proficency • For students who speak only Spanish, there is an assessment booklet that can be accessed for the student to record their responses.

Appropriates of Test for Student with Disabilities This test is not appropriate for student with disabilities because: Student may have difficulty understanding test items completely (2) Self-concept for students with disabilities and or special needs is easily influenced by expectations of others and may lead to random responding or discrepant finding. .

Adaptation for student with special needs The examiner could read aloud the test, however this was not clearly stated. According to the Mental Measurement more research is being done to incorporate these into the assessment officially. .

Strengths It can be applied in a number of settings to provide therapeutic, educational, and parent/teacher interventions. Has been Integrated into research to develop its effectiveness and being used for a variety of populations. Quick and comprehensive measure to use especially when working with children .

Weaknesses There are no established procedures to use when working with special needs and/or students with disabilities. More research is needed in the area of adapting to diverse populations to ensure that the test-items are free from bias. Random responding

Additional comments . This test is simple with the format of directions for both respondent and examiner. It is also simple to score and provides a chart as well as numerical data to assess areas where a respondent may view themselves negatively.

Refernces Harris, D. B., Herzberg, D. S. & Piers, E. V. (2003). Piers-Harris children’s self concept scale. Western Psycholological Services. Puckett, M. D. (2008). Review of the Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale, Second Edition. NewsNotes, 48 (2). Retreived from http://www.theaaceonline.com/piers_harris.pdf Spies, R.A., Plake, B.S., Geisinger, K.F., & Carlson, J.F. (2007). Seventeenth Mental Measurements Yearbook. Buros Institute of Mental Measurements. .