A Cross-Cultural Validation of Adolescent Self-Concept in Two Cultures: Japan and Sweden

The psychometric properties of the SDQII (Self-Description Questionnaire II; Marsh, 1992) were examined, and the extent to which Japanese and Swedish adolescents differ in their self-concepts and actual-ideal discrepancies was investigated. Further gender differences were explored. The SDQII and Actual-Ideal Questionnaires (designed for this study) were administered to 144 Japanese and 96 Swedish adolescents (range = 14 to 15 years). The main results show that the psychometric properties of the SDQII were satisfactory in both cultures, making these instruments useful in further investigations. Japanese adolescents generally reported a lower self-concept (with the exception of physical and math self-concepts) and higher self-discrepancies than did the Swedish adolescents. In addition, the gender differences were smaller compared to the influence of the cultural effect.