Elementary School Success Profile – Parent Version (ESSP-Parent)
A multi-dimensional social environmental assessment tool designed to measure the school, family, neighborhood, and peer factors that influence elementary school students' academic and social success.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Elementary School Success Profile – Parent Version (ESSP-Parent) was developed by Gary L. Bowen (2005). It is designed to measure Social environmental risk and protective factors for elementary school success. The scale is intended for use with Parents of elementary school children.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 70 items organized into 12 factors/subscales: Neighborhood Social Capital, Neighborhood Safety and Trust, School Support, Parent School Involvement, Parent Academic Support, Parenting Practices, Child Peer Relations, Child Self-Regulation and Social Skills, Child Aggressive Behavior, Parental Warmth and Support, Family Cohesion, Neighborhood Youth Behavior.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Neighborhood Social Capital | 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 | 7 |
| Neighborhood Safety and Trust | 8,9,10,11 | 4 |
| School Support | 12,13,14 | 3 |
| Parent School Involvement | 15,16,17,18,19,20 | 6 |
| Parent Academic Support | 21,22,23,24,25,26 | 6 |
| Parenting Practices | 27,28,29,30 | 4 |
| Child Peer Relations | 31,32,33,34,35,36 | 6 |
| Child Self-Regulation and Social Skills | 37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45 | 9 |
| Child Aggressive Behavior | 46,47,48,49 | 4 |
| Parental Warmth and Support | 50,51,52,53,54 | 5 |
| Family Cohesion | 55,56,57,58,59,60 | 6 |
| Neighborhood Youth Behavior | 61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70 | 10 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Never / Strongly Disagree, 2 = Rarely / Disagree, 3 = Sometimes / Agree, 4 = Often / Strongly Agree, 5 = Very Often, 6 = Always.
The scale includes 12 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 0 to 280. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Support / High Risk: 0 – 100
- Moderate Support / Moderate Risk: 101 – 200
- High Support / Low Risk: 201 – 280
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Cronbach alphas for subscales range from 0.70 to 0.91.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 20 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.