An Improved Measure of Mastery Motivation: Reliability and Validity of the Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire (DMQ 18) for Preschool Children
An Improved Measure of Mastery Motivation: Reliability and Validity of the Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaire (DMQ 18) for Preschool Children

Summary/Abstract: Recent research has documented well the importance of mastery motivation in early childhood. Thus, it is important to have valid and reliable instruments to measure this concept. The Dimensions of Mastery Questionnaires (DMQ 17) has been used extensively in Hungary and around the world to assess children’s mastery motivation from ratings by parents, teachers, and school-age children themselves. Based on empirical and theoretical feedback, a revised version of the questionnaire (DMQ 18) was developed in English, Hungarian, Chinese and Spanish. The aim of the present study was to report and evaluate the psychometric properties of DMQ 18. In this first publication about the new DMQ, 211 3-6 year-old Hungarian kindergarten children’s mastery motivation was rated by their teachers, using DMQ 18. Validity was supported by a factor analysis which fit well the theoretical dimensions and by strong correlations between DMQ 18 and the extensively validated DMQ 17 scales. Good internal consistency, interrater reliability, test-retest reliability, and longer-term stability also support the usefulness of DMQ 18. We also discuss the importance and usefulness of measuring mastery motivation in preschool and school age children.

• Details
• Contents