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The measurement of self-esteem: Refining our methods.

1985; American Psychological Association; Volume: 48; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1037/0022-3514.48.6.1490

1939-1315

David H. Demo,

Social and Intergroup Psychology

A review of the literature indicates that (a) very little attention has been devoted to measurement problems plaguing the study of self-esteem and (b) few studies employ more than one type of self-esteem instrument.This study addresses these issues by using eight measures of self-esteem involving self-reports, ratings by others, and a projective instrument.Their intercorrelations are examined to provide preliminary validational evidence; then, confirmatory factor analysis is used to construct measurement models and further assess the validity of the measures.The results suggest that two traditional questionnaires and a personal interview are valid in measuring experienced self-esteem, and three measures involving ratings by others are valid in measuring presented self-esteem These findings are consistent with previous multidimensional conceptualizations of self-esteem, indicating that a variety of methods is necessary to adequately measure selfconcept. Article:Self-esteem is a central focus of research examining human personality, and yet the conceptualization and operationalization of this variable have been both haphazard and inconclusive.There is little consensus on a definition; there is a diverse range of measurement procedures; and, in many cases, there are weak or nonexistant correlations among indicators.Hence, various findings relating to self-esteem are not comparable (Wells & Marwell, 1976;Wylie, 1974Wylie, , 1979)).Shavelson, Hubner, and Stanton's (1976) conclusion remains true today; that is, "Self-concept research has addressed itself to substantive problems before problems of definition, measurement, and interpretation have been resolved" (p.410).Yet studies of the measurement problems in selfesteem research are rare and inconsequential.A few studies examined the convergent and discriminant validity of self-report measures of self-esteem (Hamilton, 1971;Silber & Tippett, 1965;Van Tuinen & Ramanaiah, 1979); Fleming and Watts (1980) factor analyzed the Janis and Field (1959) Feelings of Inadequacy Scale; Fleming and Courtney (1984) factor analyzed the Self-Rating Scale (a revised version of the Janis & Field Scale); and Marsh, Relich, and Smith (1983) factor analyzed the Self-Description Questionnaire, which is designed to measure seven dimensions of self-concept (Shavelson et al., 1976).The current study is designed to review a variety of instruments that are intended to measure specific dimensions of self-esteem (itself a specific component of self-concept).The objectives and rationale of each measure are presented so that the validity of each can be evaluated.