Translated Versions of the DOSC

The Dimensions Of Self-Concept (DOSC) is an inventory designed to measure self-concept in the school setting. In the past few years the DOSC has been translated into Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Portuguese. The validity and reliability of the DOSC has been examined across four cultures in a series of six studies. The authors confirmed the validity of the five DOSC scales across cultures.

The scales measured by the DOSC are Level of Aspiration, Level of Anxiety, Academic Interest and Satisfaction, Leadership and Initiative, and Identification vs. Alienation.

In a study of the Chinese translated DOSC, Huang and Michael (2000) administered the DOSC to junior high students in grades 7 through 9, and found support for the validity of the DOSC. Alpha coefficients for the scales are reported in Table 1. In an additional study the authors found some support for the independence of the scales but the evidence was less consistent (Huang and Michael, 2002). The authors suggested more research needs to be conducted to verify the multidimensionality of a Chinese translation of the DOSC.

Paik and Michael (1999) found satisfactory reliabilities as well as support for the five scales of the DOSC with a Japanese sample. The alpha coefficients for a sample of 354 females are shown in the image below.

In a study of Korean students, reliabilities were satisfactory and are reported in Table 1 (Chong & Michael, 2000). There were some interesting findings with respect to the Academic Interest and Satisfaction scale that were attributable to a cultural difference. The dominant motivation for Koreans may be extrinsic rather than intrinsic, which may lead to inconsistent results with respect to this scale.

Villar, Michael and Gribbons (1995a, 1995b) conducted two studies confirming the multidimensionality of the DOSC scales for a Portuguese population. They found reliabilities ranging from .80 to .86 for two independent Portuguese populations which are presented in Table 1. As reported in studies for other translations of the DOSC, support was demonstrated for the multidimensionality of the DOSC scales across cultures.

In this series of verification studies for the DOSC, it is evident that self-concept is multidimensional across cultures. The DOSC is a useful tool for measuring self-concept in the school setting both in the U.S. and in other countries.

References

Chong, S. & Michael, W. B. (2000). A construct validity study of scores on a Korean version of an academic self-concept for secondary school students. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 60, 117-130.

Huang, C. & Michael, W. B. (2000). A confirmatory factor analysis of scores on a Chinese version of an academic self-concept scale and its invariance across groups. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 60, 772-786.

Huang, C. & Michael, W. B. (2002). Multi-trait – Multi-method analyses of scores on a Chinese version of the Dimensions of Self-Concept scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 62, 355-372.

Paik, C. & Michael, W. B. (1999). A construct validity investigation of scores on a Japanese version of the academic self-concept scale for secondary school students. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 59, 98-110.

Villar, I. D., Michael, W. B., & Gribbons, B. (1995a). The development and construct validity of a Portuguese version of an academic self-concept scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 55, 115-123.

Villar, I. D., Michael, W. B., & Gribbons, B. (1995b). Further evidence of the construct validity and reliability of a Portuguese version of an academic self-concept scale. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 55, 1032-1038.