Abstract

CARRANZA ESTEBAN, Renzo Felipe  and  BERMUDEZ-JAIMES, Milton E.. Psychometric analysis of García and Musitu's AF5 Self-Concept Scale on college students in Tarapoto (Perú). Interdisciplinaria [online]. 2017, vol.34, n.2, pp.459-472. ISSN 1668-7027.

Self-concept is one of the factors that allows humans to live healthy and with emotional well-being during their evolutionary development. Musitu, García, and Gutiérrez (1991) mention that self-concept is the perception that people have of themselves based on the observation of their capabilities and limitations, which allows them to have a sense of identity. People having a positive self-concept may be able to accept dares, undertake challenges, lose fear, venture out, and try new things. In this regard, the present study analyzes the psychometric properties of García and Musitu's AF5 Selfconcept Scale. We used a cross-sectional design and the study sample consisted of 861 students of both genders (467 female and 394 male) in a private university in Tarapoto (Perú); who filled out the AF5 scale consisting of 30 items divided into five dimensions: academic self-concept, social self-concept, emotional self-concept, family self-concept, and physical self-concept, which are answered through a Likert scale. Firstly, we calculated the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) sampling adequacy index for total scale where we obtained .885 and Bartlett's index of sphericity was 9377.994 (df = 435, p = .001), these values allowed us to do the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with Varimax rotation where five factors explained the 51.98% of the total variance. Later, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was executed through the technique of structural equations for which four re-specification were done, the final solution got indexes of adequate adjustments (RMSEA = .05, p = .05; TLI = .90,CFI = .92, CMIN / DF = 3.521; GFI = .92, and AGFI = .90). Among the main findings we found that the final solution confirms the proposal of self-concept as a multidimensional construct of five factors; however, the number of items differs slightly. It was not possible to identify a second order solution that may evaluate global self-concept. With respect to reliability, values for scales ranged from alpha equal to .771 and .835. The results obtained coincide with the findings of the original authors; therefore, we state that the AF5 is a valid and reliable instrument for Peruvian university students. The literature has shown that an adequate self-concept is important in the life of every university student (Chen, Chiu, & Wang, 2015; Jansen,Scherer, & Schroeders, 2015; Zho, Ou & Zhao, 2015). Taking into account that college entrance is usually the first major change in the life of a teenager, a phase where students tend to have certain academic conflicts, new living arrangements, academic pressure, new financial responsibilities, and stablishment of new relationships, both social and/or romantic, as a result of educational change; Therefore, if self-concept is not well defined, students will be more likely to show school desertion generated in the first years of higher education due to decompensated shock caused by the transition from high school routine life to an academic self-learning one. Chen, Chiu, and Wang (2015) found that self-concept has a positive and significant effect on a personal level and contributes to the development of the recognition of self-learning and meta-cognitive skills (to improve their academic performance). Jansen, Scherer, and Schroeders (2015) mention that self-concept is a better predictor of future on motivation to aspire to a career in science; and Zho, Ou, and Zhao (2015) emphasize that having a high self-concept, contributes to student performance, to make an effort todo homework or study, which allow to increase performance in college. Thus, in a university academic context, the literature reports that self-concept is an important factor for adequate adaptation to college life.

Keywords : Self-concept; University students; Confirmatory factor analysis; Exploratory factor analysis; Validity; Reliability; Psychometric properties.

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