Knowing the values in childhood: Psychometric evidences of a measure

Abstract

The aim of this study was to adapt the children version of the Basic Value Survey (BVS-C), providing evidences of its psychometric properties (factorial validity and internal consistency). The functional theory of values was taken into account, identifying six value subfunctions with three specific values each. Participants were 202 students of public and private schools from João Pessoa (PB, Brazil), with mean age of 11.7 years, most of them female (54.5%) and catholic (51%). They answered the BVS-C and demographic questions. Results supported the six subfunctions of values (content hypothesis), organized in a bidimensional space with three types of goal orientation (personal, central, and social), and two types of need motivator (materialist and idealist) (structure hypothesis). Multiple indicators of internal consistency provided evidences for the psychometric properties of the BVS-C. In conclusion, this is a psychometrically adequate instrument, which could be used in future research to study childhood values.