Analysis of the Reliability and Validity of the Short Version of the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ-S) for Persons of Early and Late Adulthood

The Physical Self-Description Questionnaire Short (PSDQ-S) of Marsh, Martin, and Jackson (2010) represents a validated version, reduced to 40 items, of the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire by Marsh, Richards, Johnson, Roche, and Tremayne (1994), which has already been translated into several languages. The present study evaluated the German-language PSDQ-S on the basis of 402 test subjects in early and late adulthood. An analysis of reliability and validity, as well as comparison with the findings of Marsh et al. (2010), Stiller and Alfermann (2007), and additional translated and validated PSDQ-S-versions, led to the conclusion that the shorter German-language version can be recommended. As was the case with the original version, it is suitable both for female and male participants as well as for persons of early and late adulthood. An equivalent factor structure exists for all four groups.