An examination of the psychometric properties of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) in Chinese acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients

The psychometric properties of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) as a clinical research instrument for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients were investigated in a translated Chinese version of the instrument. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted on the RSES to establish its psychometric properties in 128 ACS patients over two observation points (within 1 week and 6 months post-admission for ACS). Internal and test-retest reliability of the RSES-TOT (all-items) and RSES-POS sub-scale (positively valenced items) were found to be acceptable. The RSES-NEG sub-scale (negatively valenced items) lacked acceptable internal reliability. The underlying factor structure of the RSES comprised two distinct but related factors, though there was inconsistency in best model fit indices at the 1-week observation point. The use of the RSES as two sub-scales (RSES-POS and RSES-NEG) may be clinically useful in evaluating the influence of this important psychological construct on the health outcomes of patients with ACS. Directions for future research are indicated.     

Psychological validation of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) in South Africa: Method effects and dimensionality in black African and white university students

The study examined the factor structure and cross-cultural validity of the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES) in a sample of South African students (N = 862; black African = 67%, female = 71.5%). Alternative a priori CFA models (unidimensional, bi-dimensional and unidimensional models comprising either latent method factor or correlated residuals) were evaluated. Results indicated that the RSES in black and white South African university students is represented by a unidimensional model with correlated residuals of negatively and positively phrased items. Findings also suggested method effects on black African students to be significantly associated with negatively worded items compared to white students. Method bias effects appear to show for some RSES items and this may have important implications for the cross-cultural utility of the RSES in South Africa.     

应用Rasch模型分析Rosenberg自尊量表

采用Rosenberg自尊量表(RSES)对425名在校大学生进行施测,应用项目反应理论的Rasch模型对项目指标进行分析及DIF检验。结果表明,Rosenberg自尊量表具有单维性,量表的信度为0.84; 除项目8以外,其他项目拟合指标良好,较适用来区分中等及偏低自尊水平的个体,项目功能差异检验发现在项目1和项目5上存在DIF,表现为男生自尊水平要高于女生。相对于经典测量理论,应用Rasch模型分析Rosenberg自尊量表具有优势,为进一步的完善和使用该自尊量表提供依据。     

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: A Bifactor Answer to a Two-Factor Question?

Despite its long-standing and widespread use, disagreement remains regarding the structure of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). In particular, concern remains regarding the degree to which the scale assesses self-esteem as a unidimensional or multidimensional (positive and negative self-esteem) construct. Using a sample of 3,862 high school students in the United Kingdom, 4 models were tested: (a) a unidimensional model, (b) a correlated 2-factor model in which the 2 latent variables are represented by positive and negative self-esteem, (c) a hierarchical model, and (d) a bifactor model. The totality of results including item loadings, goodness-of-fit indexes, reliability estimates, and correlations with self-efficacy measures all supported the bifactor model, suggesting that the 2 hypothesized factors are better understood as “grouping” factors rather than as representative of latent constructs. Accordingly, this study supports the unidimensionality of the RSES and the scoring of all 10 items to produce a global self-esteem score.     

An examination of the wording effect in the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale among culturally Chinese people

Previous psychometric studies of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; 1965) have shown that items with positive and negative words tend to form 2 factors instead of a single factor for global self-esteem. Recent studies using confirmatory factor analysis have indicated that there is an additional method effect behind negatively worded items. However, researchers conducted these studies using Western participants. Because J. L. Farh and B. S. Cheng (1997) suggested that culturally Chinese people tend to exhibit a modesty bias in self-evaluation, especially on positively worded items, researchers may infer that a wording effect of positively worded items would be evident for culturally Chinese people. The author examined the wording effect in the RSES for culturally Chinese people by comparing different confirmatory factor models. The author analyzed data from 2 independent samples of students at the National Taiwan University (ns = 393, 441) and a national sample of juniors recruited from 140 universities and colleges in Taiwan in 2004 (n = 28,862). Results showed that in addition to a global factor for self-esteem, method effects of positively and negatively worded items should also be specified for a model fitting culturally Chinese people.     

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: translation and validation in university students

The aim of this study was to translate into Spanish and to validate the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), completed by 420 university students. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the model that best fit the data, both in the total sample and in the male and female subsamples, was the one-factor structure with method effects associated with positively worded items. The results indicated high, positive correlations between self-esteem and the five dimensions of self-concept. The scale showed satisfactory levels of internal consistency and temporal stability over a four-week period. Lastly, gender differences were obtained. These findings support the use of the RSES for the assessment of self-esteem in higher education.     

Simultaneous administration of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale in 53 nations: exploring the universal and culture-specific features of global self-esteem

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) was translated into 28 languages and administered to 16,998 participants across 53 nations. The RSES factor structure was largely invariant across nations. RSES scores correlated with neuroticism, extraversion, and romantic attachment styles within nearly all nations, providing additional support for cross-cultural equivalence of the RSES. All nations scored above the theoretical midpoint of the RSES, indicating generally positive self-evaluation may be culturally universal. Individual differences in self-esteem were variable across cultures, with a neutral response bias prevalent in more collectivist cultures. Self-competence and self-liking subscales of the RSES varied with cultural individualism. Although positively and negatively worded items of the RSES were correlated within cultures and were uniformly related to external personality variables, differences between aggregates of positive and negative items were smaller in developed nations. Because negatively worded items were interpreted differently across nations, direct cross-cultural comparisons using the RSES may have limited value.     

Exploring the validity of scores from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) in Burundi: A multi-strategy approach

The present study aimed to validate the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) in Burundi, through a multi-strategy approach used in cross-cultural studies. Respondents were 906 health workers (men = 56%; caregivers 60%). They responded to a bilingual version of RSES. We utilised Confirmatory Factorial Analysis (CFA) with structural equation modelling and a back translation test to explore the structure of the RSES and the reliability of scores from the scale. Data from an independent sample were analysed for the reliability of scores assessment. CFA results suggested that the global RSES factor was likely contaminated by a method-effect; mainly associated with negatively worded items. Internal consistencies and a back-translation test demonstrated that the negatively worded items were unsuitable in this context. The independent sample study confirmed poor reliability and internal consistency of scores for both alternative language versions of the RSES. Our data suggested that an overall cultural effect, rather than a merely specific language effect, may undermine the cross-cultural transportability of the Western scale.     

The Factor Structure of Global Self-Esteem among Adolescents and Adults

The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965). Despite its frequent use, the factor structure of the RSES remains unclear. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and the CFA approach to analyzing multitrait–multimethod data were used to evaluate eight competing models of the factor structure of the RSES. The models were evaluated within three diverse samples and two follow-up surveys. The results of this study indicate that the RSES is a unidimensional construct that is contaminated by a method effect primarily associated with negatively worked items. These results were found in both adolescents and adults. Moreover, the results found support for the hypothesis that the method effects diminish with increased verbal ability. The theoretical and methodological implications of these findings are discussed.     

Global self-esteem and method effects: Competing factor structures,longitudinal invariance,and response styles in adolescents

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) is a widely used measure for assessing self-esteem, but its factor structure is debated. Our goals were to compare 10 alternative models for the RSES and to quantify and predict the method effects. This sample involves two waves (N =2,513 9th-grade and 2,370 10th-grade students) from five waves of a school-based longitudinal study. The RSES was administered in each wave. The global self-esteem factor with two latent method factors yielded the best fit to the data. The global factor explained a large amount of the common variance (61% and 46%); however, a relatively large proportion of the common variance was attributed to the negative method factor (34 % and 41%), and a small proportion of the common variance was explained by the positive method factor (5% and 13%). We conceptualized the method effect as a response style and found that being a girl and having a higher number of depressive symptoms were associated with both low self-esteem and negative response style, as measured by the negative method factor. Our study supported the one global self-esteem construct and quantified the method effects in adolescents.     

Dimensionality of rosenberg’s self-esteem scale among normal-technical stream students in Singapore

Dimensionality of the widely used Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) was investigated in a sample of 153 seventh-grade Asian students from Singapore. Confirmatory factor analyses performed on the scores of the RSES revealed two factors (positive and negative self-esteem) as hypothesized. Both factors were empirically related to different external variables. Results from multiple regression analyses indicated that positive self-esteem significantly predicted students’ mastery goal orientation and academic self-efficacy scores while negative self-esteem significantly predicted students’ disruptive behavior. These findings provide some preliminary support that the two factors could possibly be measuring substantively distinct dimensions, thus calling into question the unidimensionalty of the RSES in an Asian school-based sample. This study was supported by a grant from Center for Research in Pedagogy and Practice, National Institute of Education (CRP 26/04 RA) to Rebecca P. Ang.     

Dimensionality of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and its relationships with the Three-and the Five-factor personality models

We investigated the dimensionality of the French version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965) using confirmatory factor analysis. We tested models of 1 or 2 factors. Results suggest the RSES is a 1-dimensional scale with 3 highly correlated items. Comparison with the Revised NEO-Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R; Costa, McCrae, & Rolland, 1998) demonstrated that Neuroticism correlated strongly and Extraversion and Conscientiousness moderately with the RSES. Depression accounted for 47% of the variance of the RSES. Other NEO-PI-R facets were also moderately related with self-esteem.     

Construct Validity and Dimensionality of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Its Association with Spiritual Values Within Irish Population

Until this research, correlation of Rosenberg’s (1965) self-esteem scale (RSES), with religious and spiritual values, was never investigated using the measure as a twofold construct instead of the monolithic form. This research paper explores the prediction of RSES by spiritual values using a twofold structure of: self-esteem-positive (SEP) and self-esteem-negative (SEN), to specify individual and fragmented correlations with spirituality, which until now was unobtainable. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were applied to analyse the data. The survey was conducted among two-hundred and sixty-eight participants from the Republic of Ireland. The research finds that spirituality influences peoples’ self-esteem, but clear and linear correlation between spirituality and self-esteem is difficult to be concluded. People respond oppositely and differently to positive and to negative items in the RSES which indicates that the measure is a combination of two statistically consistent constructs: SEP and SEN. The results of the study confirm that there are many spiritual areas that affect self-esteem.

     

Neural Correlates of Biased Responses: The Negative Method Effect in the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale Is Associated with Right Amygdala Volume

Self‐esteem is a widely studied construct in psychology that is typically measured by the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale (RSES). However, a series of cross‐sectional and longitudinal studies have suggested that a simple and widely used unidimensional factor model does not provide an adequate explanation of RSES responses due to method effects. To identify the neural correlates of the method effect, we sought to determine whether and how method effects were associated with the RSES and investigate the neural basis of these effects. Two hundred and eighty Chinese college students (130 males; mean age = 22.64 years) completed the RSES and underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Behaviorally, method effects were linked to both positively and negatively worded items in the RSES. Neurally, the right amygdala volume negatively correlated with the negative method factor, while the hippocampal volume positively correlated with the general self‐esteem factor in the RSES. The neural dissociation between the general self‐esteem factor and negative method factor suggests that there are different neural mechanisms underlying them. The amygdala is involved in modulating negative affectivity; therefore, the current study sheds light on the nature of method effects that are related to self‐report with a mix of positively and negatively worded items.     

Method effects: the problem with negatively versus positively keyed items

Using confirmatory factor analyses, we examined method effects on Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965) in a sample of older European adults. Nine hundred forty nine community-dwelling adults 60 years of age or older from 5 European countries completed the RSES as well as measures of depression and life satisfaction. The 2 models that had an acceptable fit with the data included method effects. The method effects were associated with both positively and negatively worded items. Method effects models were invariant across gender and age, but not across countries. Both depression and life satisfaction predicted method effects. Individuals with higher depression scores and lower life satisfaction scores were more likely to endorse negatively phrased items.     

Method Effects: The Problem With Negatively Versus Positively Keyed Items

Using confirmatory factor analyses, we examined method effects on Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965) in a sample of older European adults. Nine hundred forty nine community-dwelling adults 60 years of age or older from 5 European countries completed the RSES as well as measures of depression and life satisfaction. The 2 models that had an acceptable fit with the data included method effects. The method effects were associated with both positively and negatively worded items. Method effects models were invariant across gender and age, but not across countries. Both depression and life satisfaction predicted method effects. Individuals with higher depression scores and lower life satisfaction scores were more likely to endorse negatively phrased items.     

Equivalencies regarding the measurement and constructs of self-esteem and major life events in an Asian/Pacific islander sample

Construct, scalar, and functional measurement equivalencies of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and Major Life Events checklist (MLE) and the constructs assessed were investigated across groups differentiated on Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian (e.g., Caucasian, Filipino, Hispanic, Japanese, and mixed/2 or more) ethnicity and gender. Initial results from maximum likelihood factoring with promax rotation showed that RSES negatively worded Item 5 loaded with the positively worded Items 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7 on 1 of 2 factors for Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian female participants. Similarly, negatively worded Item 8 and the same positively worded items comprised 1 of 2 factors for non-Hawaiian male participants. For the other 2 Ethnicity x Gender groups, factors were respectively comprised of the 5 positively and 5 negatively worded RSES items. Construct equivalence or simple (2-factor) structure underlying the RSES was indicated across the 4 groups after Items 5 and 8 were excluded from a subsequent factoring procedure. Simple structure showed that Factor 1 comprised the positively worded Items 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7, and the remaining negatively worded Items 3, 9, and 10 loaded on Factor 2. Scalar equivalence of the self-esteem and major life events measures was supported by the statistical nonsignificance of the Major Life Events x Ethnicity x Gender interaction effect in multiple regression models. The consistency in the absolute size and direction of the intercorrelations between overall self-esteem, self-esteem Factors 1 and 2, and major life events variables indicated the functional equivalence of respective measures and constructs assessed. Measurement equivalency findings concerning the RSES and MLE, the constructs measured, and their utility versus caution against their use in multiethnic studies were discussed.     

A Reexamination of the Structure of the Inward Outward Upward Prayer Scale

The dimensional structure of the Inward Outward Upward Prayer Scale was examined using exploratory factor analytic and confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) methods. A total of 703 adult Jewish pray-ers participated in the study. CFA indicated a satisfactory fit for the first-order eight-factor structure after excluding two cross-loaded items. The eight prayer subscales demonstrated acceptable levels of reliability, and the correlations between the subscales were similar to those reported in past research. CFA on second-order models indicated that a two-dimensional modality model (cognitive prayer/emotional prayer) had the best fit and was clearly superior to the directionality and intentionality models presented in past research. The implications of these findings for future research on the psychology of prayer are discussed.     

Examining the Structure,Reliability, and Validity of the Chinese Personal Growth Initiative Scale–II: Evidence for the Importance of Intentional Self-Change Among Chinese

We examined the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Chinese version of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale–II (CPGIS–II) using data from a sample of 927 Chinese university students. Consistent with previous findings, confirmatory factor analyses supported a 4-factor model of the CPGIS–II. Reliability analyses indicated that the 4 CPGIS–II subscales, namely Readiness for Change, Planfulness, Using Resources, and Intentional Behavior, demonstrated good internal consistency reliability and adequate test–retest reliability across a 4-week period. In addition, evidence for convergent and incremental validity was found in relation to measures of positive and negative psychological adjustment. Finally, results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the 4 personal growth initiative dimensions, especially planfulness, accounted for additional unique variance in psychological adjustment beyond resilience. Some implications for using the CPGIS–II in Chinese are discussed.