Normative Data and Mental Health Construct Validity for the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale in British Adolescents

Abstract

ABSTRACT Self-esteem is a potentially important measure for screening problems of social adaptation which underlie and predict mental health problems. Measuring change in self-esteem is also an important way of assessing success of therapeutic programmes of various kinds. The usefulness of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) is indicated from a review of various studies in Canada and America. In the present study, a stratified sample of four comprehensive schools in England, and of classes in two sixth form colleges yielded normative data on the Likert-scaled RSES for 665 male and 665 female pupils aged 12 to 19. Among the measures completed was the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). In each age group females had significantly lower self-esteem than males, and females were more than twice as likely to have “devastated” self-esteem. Some evidence of construct validity is available for both sex groups within age categories, from significant correlations with previously validated measures of mental health problem categories, using scales from the Ontario Child Health Survey.