The Response to Challenge Scale (RCS): The Development and Construct Validity of an Observer-Rated Measure of Children's Self-Regulation

Abstract

In this manuscript, I present an observer-rated measure of child self-regulation, the Response to Challenge Scale (RCS). The RCS was designed to measure children's cognitive, affective, and motor regulation in response to a physical challenge course. 198 children (Kindergarten through fifth grade) were evaluated using the RCS. All children individually completed a challenge course on two separate occasions four months apart. During their completion of the tasks, research-trained observers rated the degree to which children exhibited cognitive, affective, and motor regulation. In a fully-crossed research design, five raters on Occasion 1 and six raters on Occasion 2 rated all children. I examined the RCS within the Generalizability Theory (GT) framework to analyze construct validity (PRS). Results demonstrated that raters are able to distinguish between children's self-regulation in various domains, providing some validity evidence for the RCS, and supporting the theory that self-regulation is a construct that is evidenced in different domains (Baumeister, 1997).

Keywords: Generalizability Theory; Self-regulation; executive function; observer ratings.