Age and sex effects in multiple dimensions of preadolescent self-concept: A replication and extension

Abstract

Age and sex effects in multiple dimensions of self‐concept were examined in responses by 3562 preadolescent students (grades 2 to 6) to the Self Description Questionnaire (SDQ). A factor analysis of responses clearly identified the seven facets of self‐concept which the SDQ is designed to measure. Significant age and/or sex effects were found in each of the SDQ scales, but the size and direction of the effects varied with the scale. The largest sex effects were for Physical Abilities (favouring boys) and Reading (favouring girls), but the sex difference was small for the sum of all scales. For every scale there was a linear decline in self‐concept with increasing age, and a proposal to explain this decline was posited.