PHYSICAL SELF-PERCEPTIONS IN ADOLESCENCE Generalizability of a Hierarchical Multidimensional Model Across Three Cultures

This study examines the generalizability of the form, structural parameters, and latent means of a hierarchical multidimensional model of physical self-perceptions in adolescents from three cultures. A children’s version of the physical self-perception profile (PSPP-C)was administered to samples of British, HongKong, and Russian high schoolstudents. A structuralequation modelthat hypothesized a hierarchicalstructure with global self-esteem as a superordinate construct and physical self-worth as a domain-level construct governing the PSPP-C subdomains fit the data adequately. Tests of the cross-cultural generalizability of the proposed modelsupported the invariance of the factor pattern and modelparameters across the samples. Latent means analysis suggested that the factor means were significantly higher in the British sample, a finding that supports the results of cross-cultural studies of self-esteem in other domains.