Brief Description

The CFSEI-AD is a self-report inventory that can be administered individually or in groups. It consists of a total of 40 statements/questions and includes four subscales: (a) general self-esteem (16 statements), which refers to the individual’s overall perception of their self-worth; (b) social self-esteem (8 statements), which reflects the individual’s perception of the quality of their relationships with others; (c) personal self-esteem (8 statements), which pertains to the individual’s internal perceptions of personal value; and (d) the lie scale (8 statements), which indicates response inconsistency or dishonesty.

Sample

The adaptation of the CFSEI-AD into Greek was based on a sample of 150 university students (aged 18 to 25) from the University of Thessaly and the Athens Technological Educational Institute. The scale was initially translated from English into Greek, and then back-translated into English. It was culturally adapted to the Greek context by three bilingual students and instructors. Minor adjustments were made to the final version to enhance linguistic clarity. Additionally, the scoring system was adapted to Greek data, and the self-esteem score ranges were revised in accordance with the general statistical analysis guidelines from Battle’s studies (1977a, 1980, 1981), which correspond broadly to the four subscales of the questionnaire.

Scoring Method

The 40 statements/questions that comprise the CFSEI-AD are presented together as one set and are divided into two groups: those indicating high self-esteem and those referring to low self-esteem. Each statement has two response options: “yes” or “no.” For each individual, four subscale scores can be calculated, as well as an overall score based on the total number of items answered correctly, excluding those from the lie scale. The maximum possible scores are as follows: (a) General self-esteem: items 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 18, 20, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 37, 39; (b) Social self-esteem: items 1, 5, 7, 10, 16, 21, 31, 35; (c) Personal self-esteem: items 11, 12, 17, 22, 27, 34, 36, 40; and (d) Lie scale – dishonesty: items 4, 9, 14, 19, 24, 29, 33, 38.

The lie scale measures the level of honesty of an individual while completing the questionnaire. Individuals who tend to answer “yes” to statements describing socially desirable behavior may have results influenced more by social desirability than by their personal viewpoint. This scale is not included in the overall score but is considered an indicator of how honestly someone responded to the CFSEI-AD. Finally, according to Battle, individuals are classified based on their total self-esteem score into five score categories: (a) very low, up to 13 points; (b) low, from 14 to 19 points; (c) medium, from 20 to 25 points; (d) high, from 26 to 30 points; and (e) very high, above 30 points.

Validity

The CFSEI demonstrates good construct and content validity, as well as strong concurrent validity when compared to psychometric tools such as the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (validity coefficients ranging from 0.71 to 0.80), and the Beck Depression Inventory.

Reliability

The studies by Battle (1977a, 1980, 1981) indicated that the various forms of the scale show good test-retest reliability (0.81) and demonstrate good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha), which ranges from 0.54 to 0.78. Furthermore, factor analyses revealed the four subscales of this psychometric tool: general self-esteem (α = 0.78), social self-esteem (α = 0.57), personal self-esteem (α = 0.72), and the lie scale (α = 0.54). Although the scale has been standardized across various populations, primarily in Canada and the United States (Battle, 1977a, 1978, 1979, 1990, 1992), there are also data and corresponding norms for the British adult population (Bartram, Lindley, & Foster, 1991), which, however, do not differ significantly from American norms.

Key References

Bartram, D., Lindley, P., & Foster, J. (1991). Culture-free Self-Esteem Inventory: Some British Normative Data. Windsor: NFER-Nelson.
Battle, J. (1977a). A comparison of two self-report inventories. Psychological Reports, 41, 159–160.
Battle, J. (1978). The relationship between self-esteem and depression. Psychological Reports, 42, 745–746.
Battle, J. (1980). The relationship between self-esteem and depression among high school students. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 51, 157–158.
Battle, J. (1981). Culture-free SEI self-esteem inventories for children and adults. Seattle, WA: Special Child Publications.
Battle, J. (1990). Self-esteem: The New Revolution. Edmonton: James Battle Associates.
Battle, J. (1992). Culture-free Self-esteem Inventories (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: PRO-ED.