Multi-Item Scale:

Item Text:

Different Answer Format Tested:

Findings:

The majority of respondents (n = 8) answered item 13 with “Never true”, while one respondent each selected “Sometimes true” (TP01) and “Often true” (TP10). Except for respondent 10, the respondents showed a homogeneous understanding of the item and in all cases the reasons given by the respondents matched their answers. Respondents who answered “Never true” stated that they had great confidence in their abilities:

• “For example, if I'm good at running in PE class and then there's the long jump, then I'm confident that I'm good at that too.” (TP06, 9 years old, 4th grade)
• “My parents always say there's nothing you can't do. It's just things you've never practiced before. I know that I could actually do anything and I'm actually confident enough to do pretty much anything.” (TP04, 10 years old, 5th grade)

Respondent 1 explained that she doubts her abilities from time to time and therefore answered “Sometimes true”:

• “Most of the time, I know that I can do something well. But sometimes I don't trust myself to do things properly.” (TP01, 8 years old, 3rd grade)

Respondent 10 (11 years old, 6th grade) interpreted the phrase “I don't have any confidence in myself” not as “having confidence in my own abilities”, but as “having the confidence to do something” and was unsure whether the item referred to the school or out-of-school context. In the end, the out-of-school context seemed more appropriate for the wording, which is why she answered, “Often true” and explained that she often did not dare to do things and quickly became afraid:

• TP10: “Does that refer to the school or in general?”
• INT: “How would you understand it?”
• TP10: “I would rather understand it as not referring to school. Outside of school, I can think of more situations where I don't have the confidence to do something. At school, for example, I don't have the confidence to put my hand up. Apart from that, there are lots of things that some people take for granted, but which I don't trust myself to do or where I quickly become afraid. For example, if I'm watching a movie that's too thrilling for me, I don't want to continue watching it. Even though I know it's just a movie. But then it's too scary for me.”
• INT: “What if you had only thought about situations at school?”
• TP10: “That's like question 10. It's never actually the case that I don't have the confidence to put my hand up, for example.”

As with item 9, respondent 03 noted that the presupposition “Although I have often achieved good grades [...]” did not apply to her. She then answered the item from the perspective of the few situations in which she had received good grades:

• “Again, it says something about the good grades. In the cases where I achieved good grades or performances, I thought I could do much better. So rather the exact opposite [of this statement].” (TP03, 12 years old, 7th grade, answer: Never true)

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