The constructs of self-concept, self-image and self-esteem play key roles in the integration of personality, which unconsciously and automatically influences our feelings, thoughts, and actions. In attempting to define and distinguish these constructs, self-concept is viewed as the cognitive − descriptive aspects of self-knowledge, and self-esteem as the emotional − evaluative components. Since it is difficult to distinguish emotional and cognitive aspects from each other, the term self-concept is usually regarded as including both aspects. Our self-construal, however, differs by culture. Scholars have distinguished between individualism and collectivism (Hofstede, 1983), or independent and interdependent self (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). Western culture places a somewhat greater value on individuals being competent and self-sufficient, while the Eastern culture focuses on fitting in harmoniously with others and gaining a sense of belongingness and interdependence with others (e.g., Markus & Kitayama). One study showed that Sweden was more individualistic, while Japan was more collectivistic (Suh, Diener, Oishi, & Triandis, 1998). Recent studies (e.g., Gudykunst et al., 1996; Matsumoto, 1999) show that the definition of the individualism-collectivism dimension becomes very complex if used for explaining cultural differences in self-construal.

For years there has been a debate in self-concept research about the usefulness of a single one-dimensional global perspective of self-concept such as self-esteem (e.g., Rosenberg, 1965), and a multidimensional perspective of self-concept based on relatively distinct components of self-concept (e.g., emotional, social, academic, physical, etc.) (Shavelson, Hubner, & Stanton, 1976). One of the widely used instruments for one-dimensional assessment, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) is concerned with how individuals feel about themselves in general, but places little emphasis on social or specific situations. Currently, the multidimensional construct is widely accepted in different psychology disciplines (e.g., social and educational psychology).

The Self-Description Questionnaire II (SDQII) (Marsh, 1992) is a self-reporting instrument for adolescents that originated with the multifaceted and hierarchical self-concept model (Shavelson et al., 1976). This instrument has been widely used in such countries as China (Yeung & Lee, 1999), Hong Kong (Marsh, Hau, & Kong, 2002), Germany (Marsh, Köller, & Baumart, 2001), and France (Guérin, Marsh, & Framose, 2003), and they have been found to provide sufficient psychometric properties. A study of Japanese children using a junior version of the SDQ instrument (SDQI) demonstrated the multidimensionality of self-concept among Japanese children (Inoue, 2004).

Kashima et al. (1995) stated that gender differences in self-concept were best summarized by the extent to which people regard themselves as emotionally related to others, while cultural differences were most pronounced on the individualistic dimension of the self, that is, the extent to which individuals see themselves acting and expressing their opinions on their own. The collective dimension of the self was related to cultural differences, but not to the gender differences. Marsh (1989) found gender differences in specific scales in the SDQII; for example, boys had higher physical, appearance and self-esteem self-concepts while girls had higher verbal and honesty self-concepts, and that gender differences were small for parental relations and school self-concepts. The level of the self-concept decreased during preadolescence and increased during late adolescence and adulthood, and the age and gender interactions were typically small (Marsh, 1989).

Various studies have demonstrated that average levels of self-esteem vary across cultures (e.g., Chan, 2000; Dekovic, Engels, Shirai, de Kort, & Anker, 2002; Farruggia, Chen, Greenberger, Dimitrieva, & Macek, 2004), and that Japanese and other Asians generally reported lower levels of self-esteem than did their Western counterparts (i.e., Americans, British people, and Australians). Despite a number of cross-cultural studies in self-esteem, there seem to be few cross-cultural studies in the multidimensional self-concept (e.g., Marsh & Hau, 2004; Wästlund, Archer, & Norlander, 2001), and furthermore, not before adolescence. As the study focused on adolescents, it seems to be important to use a self-concept instrument including the relationship to different social and psychological factors such as issues with relations with parents and friends.

The self-discrepancy theory emphasizes a distinction between actual-self and ideal-self (Higgins, 1989). The larger self-discrepancies are a way of measuring the individual’s dissatisfaction with himself or herself (Heine & Lehman, 1999). Heine and Lehman’s cross-cultural study indicated that Japanese college students had larger self-discrepancies when compared to Canadian counterparts, and larger self-discrepancy was less distressing for the Japanese than for the Canadians. One explanation was that the Japanese seemed to regard themselves in a daily self-critical view. Seeing oneself further away from one’s ideal is a motivation for self-enhancement (Heine & Lehman). Previous findings have provided empirical evidence that favorability biases in judging the self are generally less pronounced in Asians compared to Westerners, and there is an ongoing debate about why this is so (e.g., Brown, 2005; Heine, Takata, & Lehman, 2000; Takata, 2003).

The foregoing studies demonstrate the theoretical and empirical complexity of the construct of self-concept and self-esteem and the influence of culture. To our knowledge no validation of a Japanese version of the SDQ for adolescents has been performed. It would be interesting to also investigate whether the salient Japanese response style of reporting a lower level of self-concept compared to Western counterparts also appears with the use of the multidimensional self-concept (SDQII).

Reliability coefficient for the 11 scales, in both Japanese and Swedish, were acceptable (Japanese: range = .71 to .94, Mdn = .83; Swedish: range = .74 to .92, Mdn = .86; see Appendix). Internal consistency for the total self-concept scores of Japan and Sweden were .93 and .91, respectively, which can be compared with the manual score of .94 (Marsh, 1992). The corrected item-scale correlations for Japan vary from -.09 to .84 (Mdn = .57), and for Sweden from .22 to .85 (Mdn = .60), with the manual varying from .35 to .80 (Mdn = .61) (Marsh, 1992).

The exploratory factor analysis (Principal Component Analysis), using Kaiser Normalization, was performed on the 51 paired items from Japanese and Swedish SDQII separately and 11 components were designed. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with 11 components explained 71.49% of the variance for the Japanese version (see Table 1), which corresponds to 81.12% for the Swedish version (see Table 2). When compared with the manual, both the Japanese and Swedish versions showed low loadings, and some factors loaded at the same component. Mean correlation among factors (r = .16 for Japanese; r = .27 for Sweden, see Table 3) are comparable with the manual (r = .18).

The main results showed that 1) the psychometric properties of the SDQII had satisfactory results in both cultures, 2) the Japanese generally reported lower self-concepts (with the exception of physical and math self-concepts) and higher self-discrepancies than the Swedish adolescents and 3) the gender differences were smaller compared to the influence of the cultural effect. These findings seem to be consistent with those of previous cross-cultural self-concept research (e.g., Wästlund et al., 2001), and in adolescent self-esteem (e.g., Chan, 2000; Dekovic et al., 2002; Farruggia et al., 2004), as well as self-discrepancy (Heine & Lehman, 1999). The nonsignificant cultural difference concerning the subscale physical self-concept gives support to the statement by Marsella (1993) and Kanagawa et al. (2001) that the Japanese value competition in specific activities such as sports. Nonsignificant differences in the math self-concept could result from decreases in adolescents’ average mathematic achievement in both countries, which might be a consequence of social or educational changes during the 1990s (Mullis, Martin, Gonzalez, & Chrostowski, 2004). The overall findings from the SDQII showed that whether it was focused on the term unidimensional self-esteem or the multidimensional self-concept, the Japanese students tended to respond in a way that seemed to reflect more cultural differences than the actual meanings. The present study offers a limited explanation for the questions in the ongoing debate (e.g., Brown, 2005, Heine et al., 2000; Takata, 2003) about why this is the case.

The negative associations between the ratings of self-concept and self-discrepancy among both countries indicated that adolescents with greater self-discrepancy tended to have lower levels of self-concept. Associations between self-discrepancies and depression have been reported (Choi & Lee, 1998; Moretti & Wiebe, 1999). The present study did not concern depression; however, Cheng (1997) argued that the actual-ideal discrepancy is defined by the independent self characterized by Western culture, and that a discrepancy between the actual and the undesired self (the self that a person hopes to never be) was a stronger prediction of depression among Chinese adolescents than the actual-ideal discrepancy.

Supporting the findings of Kashima et al. (1995), the gender differences in self-concept were smaller compared to the influence of the cultural effect between the two countries. Consistent with earlier findings (e.g., Marsh, 1992), stereotypical gender differences in the SDQII were shown only among the Swedish adolescents. Swedish boys had more positive appearance and opposite-sex relation self-concepts than did the Swedish girls, while the Swedish girls had more positive honesty-trustworthiness than the Swedish boys. Consistent with the early findings (e.g., Hankin, Roberts, & Gotlib, 1997), this study showed that girls from both countries had larger actual-ideal discrepancies than the boys.

Some limitations should be addressed. First, the result from the factor analysis could have shown a better result if the sample size had been greater. Second, in the trait “shy vs. not shy” (scale 2 in the Actual-Ideal Questionnaire), our value judgment from the Swedish point of view was that the adjective “shy” was a negative loading. However, Japanese adolescents seemed to value the term rather positively. That might be one explanation of why no significant cultural difference was found in just that scale. This is a good example of item bias associated with ambiguous item wording. Third, using only two countries for comparison in this study limits comprehensive investigation of the cross-cultural difference.

In sum, the fact of the sufficient psychometric properties of the SDQII in both countries makes these instruments useful for further investigations. However, the favorability bias in self-concept in the cross-cultural comparison must be considered.

Brown, R. A. (2005). The paradox of Japanese self-esteem. Information & Communication Studies, 32. Department of Information and Sciences, Bunkyo University, Chigasaki: Japan.

Chan, Y. M. (2000). Self-esteem: A cross-cultural comparison of British-Chinese, White British and Hong Kong Chinese Children. Educational Psychology, 20(1), 59-74.

Cheng, S. K. (1997). Self-discrepancy and depressive experiences among Chinese early adolescents: Significance of identity and the undesired self. International Journal of Psychology, 32, 347-359.

Choi, J. W., & Lee, Y. H. (1998). The effects of actual self, ideal self, and self-discrepancy on depression. Korean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 17, 69-87.

Dekovic, M., Engels, R. C. M. E., Shirai, T., de Kort, G., & Anker, A. L. (2002). The role of peer relations in adolescent development in two cultures: The Netherlands and Japan. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33(6), 577-595.

Farruggia, S. P., Chen, C. S., Greenberger, E., Dmitrieva, J., & Macek, P. (2004). Adolescent self-esteem in cross-cultural perspective: Testing measurement equivalence and a mediation model. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35(6), 719-733.

Gudykunst, W. B., Matsumoto, Y., Ting-Toomey, S., Nishida, T., Kim, K., & Heyman, S. (1996). The influence of cultural individualism and collectivism, self-construal, and individual values on communication styles across cultures. Human Communication Research, 22, 510–543.

Guérin, F., Marsh, H. W., & Framose, J-P. (2003). Construct validation of the Self-Description Questionnaire II with a French sample. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 19(2), 142-150.

Hankin, B. L., Roberts, J., & Gotlib, I. H. (1997). Elevated self-standards and emotional distress during adolescence: Emotional specificity and gender differences. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 21, 663-681.

Heine, S. J., & Lehman, D. R. (1999). Culture, self-discrepancies, and self-satisfaction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 915-925.

Heine, S. J., Takata, T., & Lehman, D. R. (2000). Beyond self-presentation: Evidence for self-criticism among Japanese. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 71-78.

Higgins, E. T. (1989). Continuities and discontinuities in self-regulatory and self-evaluative processes: A developmental theory relating self and affect. Journal of Personality, 57, 407-444.

Hofstede, G. (1983). Dimensions of natural cultures in fifty countries and three regions. In J. B. Deregowski, S. Dziurawiec, & R. C. Annis (Eds.), Explications in cross-cultural psychology (pp. 335–355). Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.

Inoue, H. (2004 July). Japanese Self-Description Questionnaire: The cross-cultural validation and teachers’ approaches to positive self-concept. Paper presented at 3rd International Biennial SELF Research Conference, Berlin, Germany.

Kanagawa, C., Cross, S. E., & Markus, H. R. (2001). “Who am I?” The cultural psychology of the conceptual self. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 90-103.

Kashima, Y., Yamaguchi, S., Kim, U., Choi, S. C., Gelfand, M. J., & Yuki, M. (1995). Culture, gender, and self: A perspective from individualism-collectivism research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 925-937.

Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224-253.

Marsella, A. J. (1993). Counseling and psychotherapy with Japanese Americans: Cross-cultural considerations. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 63(2), 200-208.

Marsh, H. W. (1989). Age and sex effects in multiple dimensions of self-concept: Preadolescence to early-adulthood. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 417-430.

Marsh, H. W. (1992). SDQ-II: Manual. Sydney, Australia: SELF Research Centre, University of Western Sydney.

Marsh, H. W., & Hau, K. (2004). Explaining paradoxical relations between academic self-concepts and achievements. Cross-cultural generalizability of the Internal/External Frame of Reference predictions across 26 countries. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96, 56-67.

Marsh, H. W., Hau, K., & Kong, K. W. (2002). Multilevel causal ordering of academic self-concept and achievement. Influence of language of instruction (English vs. Chinese) for Hong Kong students. American Research Journal, 39, 727-764.

Marsh, H. W., Köller, O., & Baumart, J. (2001). Reunification of East and West German school systems: Longitudinal multilevel modeling study of the big fish little pond effect on academic self-concept. American Educational Research Journal, 38(2), 321-350.

Matsumoto, D. (1999). Culture and self: An empirical assessment of Markus and Kitayama’s theory of independent and interdependent self-construal. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 2, 292-310.

Moretti, M. M., & Wiebe, V. J. (1999). Self-discrepancy in adolescence: Own and parental standpoints on the self. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 45, 624-649.

Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., Gonzalez, E. J., & Chrostowski, S. J. (2004). TIMSS 2003 International Mathematics Report. Findings from IEA’s trends in international mathematics and science study at the fourth and eighth grades. Chestnut Hill, MA: TIMSS & PIRLS. International Study Center, Lynch School of Education, Boston College.

Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Shavelson, R. J., Hubner, J. J., & Stanton, G. C. (1976). Self concept: Validation of construct interpretations. Review of Educational Research, 46, 407-441.

Suh, E. M., Diener, E. F., Oishi, S., & Triandis, H. C. (1998). The shifting basis of life satisfaction judgments across cultures: Emotions versus norms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 482-493.

Takata, T. (2003). Self-enhancement and self-criticism in Japanese culture: An experimental analysis. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 34(5), 542-551.

Wästlund, E., Archer, T., & Norlander, T. (2001). Cross-cultural differences in self-concept: A meta-analysis of the Self-Description Questionnaire-1. Cross-Cultural Research, 35, 280-302.

Yeung, A. S., & Lee, F. L. (1999). Self-concept of high school students in China: Confirmatory factor analysis of longitudinal data. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 59(3), 431-450.

Brown, R. A. (2005). The paradox of Japanese self-esteem. Information & Communication Studies, 32. Department of Information and Sciences, Bunkyo University, Chigasaki: Japan.

Chan, Y. M. (2000). Self-esteem: A cross-cultural comparison of British-Chinese, White British and Hong Kong Chinese Children. Educational Psychology, 20(1), 59-74.

Cheng, S. K. (1997). Self-discrepancy and depressive experiences among Chinese early adolescents: Significance of identity and the undesired self. International Journal of Psychology, 32, 347-359.

Choi, J. W., & Lee, Y. H. (1998). The effects of actual self, ideal self, and self-discrepancy on depression. Korean Journal of Clinical Psychology, 17, 69-87.

Dekovic, M., Engels, R. C. M. E., Shirai, T., de Kort, G., & Anker, A. L. (2002). The role of peer relations in adolescent development in two cultures: The Netherlands and Japan. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33(6), 577-595.

Farruggia, S. P., Chen, C. S., Greenberger, E., Dmitrieva, J., & Macek, P. (2004). Adolescent self-esteem in cross-cultural perspective: Testing measurement equivalence and a mediation model. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35(6), 719-733.

Gudykunst, W. B., Matsumoto, Y., Ting-Toomey, S., Nishida, T., Kim, K., & Heyman, S. (1996). The influence of cultural individualism and collectivism, self-construal, and individual values on communication styles across cultures. Human Communication Research, 22, 510–543.

Guérin, F., Marsh, H. W., & Framose, J-P. (2003). Construct validation of the Self-Description Questionnaire II with a French sample. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 19(2), 142-150.

Hankin, B. L., Roberts, J., & Gotlib, I. H. (1997). Elevated self-standards and emotional distress during adolescence: Emotional specificity and gender differences. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 21, 663-681.

Heine, S. J., & Lehman, D. R. (1999). Culture, self-discrepancies, and self-satisfaction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 915-925.

Heine, S. J., Takata, T., & Lehman, D. R. (2000). Beyond self-presentation: Evidence for self-criticism among Japanese. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 71-78.

Higgins, E. T. (1989). Continuities and discontinuities in self-regulatory and self-evaluative processes: A developmental theory relating self and affect. Journal of Personality, 57, 407-444.

Hofstede, G. (1983). Dimensions of natural cultures in fifty countries and three regions. In J. B. Deregowski, S. Dziurawiec, & R. C. Annis (Eds.), Explications in cross-cultural psychology (pp. 335–355). Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger.

Inoue, H. (2004 July). Japanese Self-Description Questionnaire: The cross-cultural validation and teachers’ approaches to positive self-concept. Paper presented at 3rd International Biennial SELF Research Conference, Berlin, Germany.

Kanagawa, C., Cross, S. E., & Markus, H. R. (2001). “Who am I?” The cultural psychology of the conceptual self. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 90-103.

Kashima, Y., Yamaguchi, S., Kim, U., Choi, S. C., Gelfand, M. J., & Yuki, M. (1995). Culture, gender, and self: A perspective from individualism-collectivism research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 925-937.

Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224-253.

Marsella, A. J. (1993). Counseling and psychotherapy with Japanese Americans: Cross-cultural considerations. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 63(2), 200-208.

Marsh, H. W. (1989). Age and sex effects in multiple dimensions of self-concept: Preadolescence to early-adulthood. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 417-430.

Marsh, H. W. (1992). SDQ-II: Manual. Sydney, Australia: SELF Research Centre, University of Western Sydney.

Marsh, H. W., & Hau, K. (2004). Explaining paradoxical relations between academic self-concepts and achievements. Cross-cultural generalizability of the Internal/External Frame of Reference predictions across 26 countries. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96, 56-67.

Marsh, H. W., Hau, K., & Kong, K. W. (2002). Multilevel causal ordering of academic self-concept and achievement. Influence of language of instruction (English vs. Chinese) for Hong Kong students. American Research Journal, 39, 727-764.

Marsh, H. W., Köller, O., & Baumart, J. (2001). Reunification of East and West German school systems: Longitudinal multilevel modeling study of the big fish little pond effect on academic self-concept. American Educational Research Journal, 38(2), 321-350.

Matsumoto, D. (1999). Culture and self: An empirical assessment of Markus and Kitayama’s theory of independent and interdependent self-construal. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 2, 292-310.

Moretti, M. M., & Wiebe, V. J. (1999). Self-discrepancy in adolescence: Own and parental standpoints on the self. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 45, 624-649.

Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., Gonzalez, E. J., & Chrostowski, S. J. (2004). TIMSS 2003 International Mathematics Report. Findings from IEA’s trends in international mathematics and science study at the fourth and eighth grades. Chestnut Hill, MA: TIMSS & PIRLS. International Study Center, Lynch School of Education, Boston College.

Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Shavelson, R. J., Hubner, J. J., & Stanton, G. C. (1976). Self concept: Validation of construct interpretations. Review of Educational Research, 46, 407-441.

Suh, E. M., Diener, E. F., Oishi, S., & Triandis, H. C. (1998). The shifting basis of life satisfaction judgments across cultures: Emotions versus norms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 482-493.

Takata, T. (2003). Self-enhancement and self-criticism in Japanese culture: An experimental analysis. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 34(5), 542-551.

Wästlund, E., Archer, T., & Norlander, T. (2001). Cross-cultural differences in self-concept: A meta-analysis of the Self-Description Questionnaire-1. Cross-Cultural Research, 35, 280-302.

Yeung, A. S., & Lee, F. L. (1999). Self-concept of high school students in China: Confirmatory factor analysis of longitudinal data. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 59(3), 431-450.