Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the perceived self-esteem instability measure

Abstract

When measuring the instability of self-esteem, the standard deviation of state self-esteem over a period of several days has been considered the gold standard. As an alternative, the perceived self-esteem instability measure (P-SEI measure) was developed as a single-administration scale. The present study involved the development of the Japanese version of the P-SEI measure and evaluation of its reliability and validity. In Study 1, the P-SEI measure was translated into Japanese. Confirmatory factor analysis on the 8-item P-SEI measure confirmed factorial validity and internal consistency. In addition, the P-SEI measure was related to mental health (K6) when controlling for the Rosenberg self-esteem scale or the standard deviation of state self-esteem measured over 7 days. In Study 2, the test-retest reliability of the P-SEI measure was confirmed. Finally, this study evaluated considerations about using the P-SEI measure in research and other applications as well as the possibility of a longitudinal developmental study.