Date of Award

Fall 12-1-1989

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational and School Psychology

First Advisor

John E. Carter

Second Advisor

Walter Sullins

Third Advisor

Karl B. Zucker

Abstract

I'he purpose of this study was to examine the construct validity of the Grimley Personality Scale for Children (GPSC). The GPSC is an experimental personality test designed to measure the social/personal adjustment of a child in various social contacts. The validity of the GPSC was investigated through the association of this instrument with other measures of social/personal adjustment: the California Test of Personality (CTP), the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale (PHCSCS), the Paired Hands Test (PHT), and the Personal Attribute Inventory for Children (PAIC) . It was hypothesized that there would be significant positive relationships between the total score on the GPSC and the total scores on the CTP, PHCSCS, PHT, and the PAIC. All five test instruments were administered to 177 children enrolled in regular 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-grade classes. Statistical analyses indicated that the GPSC was statistically correlated with the CTP, PHCSCS, and the PHT in the direction predicted. However, the magnitude of the correlation coefficients was small, showing little variance shared by the GPSC with the other instruments. The relationship between the GPSC and the PAIC was found to' be positive but failed to reach statistical significance. The findings of this study suggest that the GPSC is likely to be measuring something different from the traits measured by the CTP, PHCSCS, PHT, and the PAIC. This implies that any findings resulting from research employing the GPSC require cautious interpretation and that further investigation of the GPSC is in order.

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