Two dimensions of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale in junior high school students: Approving Positive Self-image and denying negative self-image

Abstract

The present research tested the hypothesis that the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) has 2 psychological dimensions: Negative Self-Esteem (NSE), which is measured by how much participants disagree with reversed items, and Positive Self-Esteem (PSE), which is measured by how much participants agree with non-reversed items. In Study 1, a factor analysis was conducted on 5 independent data sets from people in different age groups, ranging from university students to people in their seventies. The results supported the hypothesis that the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale may have 2 factors. In Study 2, students from 2 junior high schools completed the survey; the results validated the 2-factor structure of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The results of Study 2 also indicated that psychological stress was negatively correlated with the Negative Self-Esteem factor, i.e., the more strongly the students disagreed with the reversed items, the less psychological stress they reported. In Study 3, junior high school students completed the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire; the results indicated that hostility was more negatively correlated to Negative Self-Esteem than to Positive Self-Esteem. These results support the hypothesis that the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale has 2 dimensions, which could be called Approving Positive Self-image and Denying Negative Self-image.