Lawrence Self-Esteem Questionnaire [LSEQ-10]

Description

The Lawrence Self-Esteem Questionnaire (LSEQ-10) is a brief psychometric instrument designed to assess self-esteem in adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 25 years.

According to the available source, the questionnaire is based on a multidimensional model of self-esteem. Rather than treating self-esteem exclusively as a single global characteristic, it examines both overall self-esteem and more specific aspects of self-perception.

The LSEQ-10 assesses four dimensions:

General Self-Esteem

Academic Self-Esteem

Social Self-Esteem

Physical Self-Esteem

This multidimensional structure allows self-esteem to be examined both globally and across specific areas of personal functioning.

Objective

The primary objective of the LSEQ-10 is to assess self-esteem during adolescence and young adulthood.

The questionnaire aims to capture how individuals evaluate themselves overall while also examining their self-perceptions within specific academic, social, and physical domains.

This approach can provide a more differentiated profile than a single global self-esteem score. It allows researchers or practitioners to examine whether an individual’s self-evaluation is relatively consistent across domains or varies according to particular areas of experience.

Development of the Questionnaire

According to the source material, the instrument was originally developed by Lawrence in 1981.

The version described in the available document is presented as having been updated to address the needs of contemporary adolescent populations.

However, the source does not provide further details regarding the procedures used for this update, the researchers responsible for it, or a separate validation publication for the updated 10-item version. Therefore, these aspects cannot be specified further on the basis of the available material.

Questionnaire Structure

The LSEQ-10 consists of 10 items, distributed across four dimensions:

General Self-Esteem – 4 items

This dimension evaluates the individual’s broader perception of personal worth and general feelings about the self.

Academic Self-Esteem – 3 items

This dimension focuses on how individuals perceive themselves and their abilities within academic or educational contexts.

Social Self-Esteem – 2 items

This dimension concerns self-perceptions related to social relationships and interpersonal interactions.

Physical Self-Esteem – 1 item

This dimension assesses self-evaluation in relation to the physical domain and personal appearance.

The distribution of items allows both an overall score and separate domain-specific scores to be calculated.

Administration

Participants respond to the 10 items using a 4-point Likert-type scale.

According to the source, responses range from:

Strongly Disagree

to

Strongly Agree

Each response is assigned a score ranging from 1 to 4.

The brief 10-item format allows information about several dimensions of self-esteem to be collected through a relatively small number of questions.

Scoring

Each item is scored from 1 to 4.

The total LSEQ-10 score ranges from:

Minimum score = 10

Maximum score = 40

According to the available document, higher scores indicate higher levels of self-esteem.

In addition to the overall score, each of the four dimensions can be scored separately to provide a more detailed analysis of the respondent’s self-esteem profile.

Subscale Scores

Based on the number of items assigned to each dimension and the 1–4 scoring system, the source specifies the following score ranges:

General Self-Esteem: 4–16

Academic Self-Esteem: 3–12

Social Self-Esteem: 2–8

Physical Self-Esteem: 1–4

Separate examination of these scores may help identify differences across the domains of self-esteem assessed by the questionnaire.

For example, an individual may obtain relatively different scores in academic, social, or physical self-esteem. Such differences should be interpreted within the scoring framework of the instrument and the context in which it is administered.

Interpretation of Scores

According to the available source, results are interpreted using the following percentage-based thresholds:

Below 25%: Low Self-Esteem

25%–75%: Moderate Self-Esteem

Above 75%: High Self-Esteem

These thresholds are presented as reported in the source material.

The total score can provide an overall indication of self-esteem, while examination of the four dimensions offers additional information about the individual’s profile across different areas of self-perception.

Interpretation should therefore consider both the overall score and the pattern of domain-specific scores.

Data Analysis and Use

LSEQ-10 data can be analyzed at both the total-scale and individual-dimension levels.

Descriptive Statistics: Means, standard deviations, medians, ranges, and score distributions can be calculated for the overall scale and the individual dimensions.

Reliability Analysis: Internal consistency of the total scale can be evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha.

Correlation Analysis: Total and domain-specific scores may be examined in relation to other psychological, educational, social, or demographic variables, depending on the objectives of the study.

Group Comparisons: Differences in self-esteem may be investigated between relevant groups when supported by the research design.

Profile Analysis: Simultaneous examination of general, academic, social, and physical self-esteem can be used to investigate differences between the dimensions assessed by the questionnaire.

Reliability

According to the available material, the LSEQ-10 demonstrates satisfactory internal consistency.

The reported internal consistency coefficient for the total scale is:

Cronbach’s α = 0.82

The source also reports test-retest reliability over a four-week interval of:

r = 0.78

These coefficients are presented in the document as evidence supporting the reliability of the overall questionnaire.

Validity

According to the source material, the questionnaire has demonstrated validity across different cultural groups.

The document reports a correlation with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire of:

r = 0.72

This association is presented as evidence supporting the relationship between LSEQ-10 scores and another measure of self-esteem.

The source also states that the questionnaire demonstrates good discriminant validity.

However, the available document does not provide detailed information regarding the samples, study designs, or statistical analyses from which these validity findings were derived. Therefore, the reported values should be presented within the limitations of the available source.

Indicative Item Content

The available source provides several indicative items representing different areas of self-esteem.

Their content addresses:

general positive feelings about oneself,

perceived academic competence,

difficulty establishing friendships,

and satisfaction with physical appearance.

The document also identifies an item concerning difficulty making friends as a reverse-scored item.

Reverse scoring should therefore be taken into account when applying the official scoring procedure for the questionnaire.

Applications

The Lawrence Self-Esteem Questionnaire [LSEQ-10] can be used to assess self-esteem among adolescents and young adults aged 12–25 years.

Its multidimensional structure enables examination of both overall self-esteem and more specific aspects of self-perception.

The instrument may be used in research examining self-esteem and its associations with psychological, educational, social, or other relevant variables.

Separate examination of academic and social self-esteem may be particularly useful in research focusing on adolescence and young adulthood, while the general and physical dimensions provide additional information about broader self-evaluations.

Limitations

Although the LSEQ-10 provides both an overall and multidimensional assessment of self-esteem, its results should be interpreted within the context of the specific application.

The instrument is based on self-report, meaning that responses reflect how individuals perceive and evaluate themselves at the time of assessment.

In addition, while the available document provides specific reliability and validity coefficients, it does not describe in detail the samples or studies from which all of these values were obtained.

When applying the questionnaire to different linguistic, cultural, or age groups, the suitability and psychometric evidence of the particular version being used should therefore be considered.

Conclusions

The Lawrence Self-Esteem Questionnaire [LSEQ-10] is presented in the available source as a brief, multidimensional 10-item instrument for assessing self-esteem among adolescents and young adults aged 12–25 years.

Its structure encompasses four dimensions: general, academic, social, and physical self-esteem. The total score ranges from 10 to 40, with higher scores indicating higher self-esteem.

According to the available material, the questionnaire demonstrates Cronbach’s α = 0.82, four-week test-retest reliability of r = 0.78, and a correlation of r = 0.72 with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire.

The combination of an overall score and domain-specific scores provides a framework for examining self-esteem from a more differentiated perspective, provided that scoring and interpretation follow the procedures appropriate to the version administered.

References

Lawrence, D. (1981). The development of a self-esteem questionnaire. British Journal of Educational Psychology.

Smith, P. (2010). Self-Esteem in Adolescence. Psychology Publications.