Analysis

PATEM I, adapted by E. Makri-Botsari, is the Greek version of the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children by Harter and Pike. It is a set of four psychometric pictorial scales designed to assess four specific domains of self-perception.

Purpose

In the Greek adaptation, all the original scales from the initial questionnaire were retained; however, the number of items was reduced from six to five. Some items were also rephrased or replaced to enhance the validity and reliability of the Greek version. These modifications were made with the approval of Harter. This questionnaire is designed to assess the self-perception of boys and girls in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade of primary school. It is gender-specific (different for boys and girls) and is administered individually. It includes four scales representing four domains of self-perception:
Academic Competence
Peer Relationships
Physical Competence
Relationships with the Mother

Scoring

Items are rated on a 4-point scale ranging from 1 to 4, with higher values reflecting higher levels of self-perception.

Statistical Analysis

The questionnaire was administered to a sample of 345 children, including 173 boys and 172 girls. The average score for each scale reflects the child’s level of self-perception in the corresponding domain of their life.

Validity and Reliability

The types of validity assessed were factorial validity and concurrent validity. In the exploratory factor analysis, both Cattell’s scree test and Kaiser’s criterion (where factors are retained only if their eigenvalue is greater than one) indicated the extraction of four factors. These four factors correspond to the four subscales of PATEM I. Together, these factors explain 49.3% of the total variance of item scores.
In the confirmatory factor analysis, four alternative factor models of self-perception were tested:
Null model
One-factor model
Two-factor model
Four-factor model
The best fit to the sample data was achieved by the four-factor model.
The correlation between popularity and peer relationship self-perception was found to be 0.31.
The stability of the PATEM I questionnaire was assessed using the test-retest method. The second measurement took place three months after the first. The test-retest reliability coefficients ranged from 0.78 to 0.85. Cronbach’s alpha also ranged at high levels, from 0.72 to 0.80, indicating strong internal consistency.

References

Harter, S., & Pike, R. (1983). Manual for the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children. Denver, CO: University of Denver Press.
Makri-Botsari, E. (2001a). How I Perceive Myself I. A questionnaire for the assessment of self-perception in children of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade. Athens: Ellinika Grammata.
Makri-Botsari, E. (2001b). Self-perception and self-esteem: Models, development, functional role, and assessment. Athens: Ellinika Grammata.