Exploratory Validation Study of a Measure of Other-Esteem with Adolescents

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide further exploratory validation of a nascent self-report rating scale designed to measure the concept of other-esteem: The Other-Esteem Rating Scale (OthERS). Other-esteem as conceptualized in this article was coined by Philip Hwang and encompasses the following concepts: non-offensiveness; friendliness, kindness, respectfulness, acceptance, valuing, praising, and the promotion of others. An earlier study provided preliminary norms, reliability, and validity for the OthERS with an undergraduate sample. To continue this exploratory line of inquiry with younger adolescents, the OthERS was administered online to a sample of 486 individuals ages 14–18. An exploratory factor analysis resulted in a four-factor model that accounted for 54.1% of the variance with adequate internal consistency estimates. The results indicated that other-esteem evidenced small inverse relationships with aggression and bullying. Other-esteem and self-esteem were not found to be related. Implications for research and practice are discussed.