Purpose of the Questionnaire

The aim of the questionnaire is to measure students’ self-esteem in relation to their immediate environment (family and school).

Questionnaire Analysis

The [LAWSEQ-16] questionnaire was developed by Lawrence in 1981. It consists of 16 self-report questions, 4 of which are used for distraction purposes. The [LAWSEQ-16] is designed for children aged 8 to 12, with a separate version available for secondary school students.

Scoring

In the [LAWSEQ-16], children are asked to respond to 16 questions. The scoring is based on a 3-point scale:
2 = Yes
1 = Don’t know (unsure about the content of the question)
0 = No
An exception is the question: “Do you think your parents usually want to hear your ideas?” where the scoring is reversed:
Yes = 0 points
Don’t know = 1 point
No = 2 points

Statistical Analysis

The total score is derived from the sum of 12 out of the 16 questions (the 4 distractor questions are excluded from the final score). The overall score ranges from 0 to 24, where 0 represents the strongest self-esteem and 24 the weakest. Consequently, a high score indicates low self-esteem (within the family and school environment), while a low score indicates high self-esteem.

Validity and Reliability

The [LAWSEQ-16] demonstrated good internal reliability with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.73 for the full set of questions.

References

Lawrence, D. (1981). The development of a self‐esteem questionnaire. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 51(2), 245–251.
Rae, G., Dalto, G., Loughrey, D., & Woods, C. (2011). Component structure, reliability, and stability of Lawrence’s Self‐Esteem Questionnaire (LAWSEQ). Educational Studies, 37(2), 155–158.
Rojo, M., Lacruz, T., Solano, S., Vivar, M., Del Río, A., Martínez, J., … & Sepúlveda, A. R. (2022). ENTREN-F family-system based intervention for managing childhood obesity: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial at primary care. Obesity Research & Clinical Practice.
Saari, A. J., Kentala, J., & Mattila, K. J. (2015). Weaker self-esteem in adolescence predicts smoking. BioMed Research International, 2015.
Sepúlveda, A. R., Lacruz, T., Solano, S., Rojo, M., Román, F. J., & Blanco, M. (2022). Using structural equation modeling to understand family and psychological factors of childhood obesity: from socioeconomic disadvantage to loss of control eating. Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity, 27(5), 1809–1819.