Brief Description

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale consists of 10 statements reflecting an individual’s satisfaction with themselves, their sense of personal worth, and self-image. The items refer to feelings of success, self-respect, and the perceived appreciation of others toward the individual.

Purpose

The scale aims to measure an individual’s level of self-esteem, self-perception, and sense of personal value. It is widely used to assess psychological well-being in both clinical and research contexts.

Scoring Method

Responses are rated on a four-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 4 = strongly agree). Participants respond to all 10 items, resulting in a total score, with higher scores indicating greater self-esteem. Reverse scoring is required for negatively worded items.

Validity

Exploratory factor analysis has shown that the scale possesses good construct validity, supporting its ability to reliably measure global self-esteem.

Reliability

The reliability of the Greek adaptation of the scale, assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, was 0.84, indicating satisfactory internal consistency for both research and clinical use.

Data Analysis and Use

The scale can be used in quantitative studies to assess self-esteem in various population groups. Data can be analyzed using descriptive statistics and comparative methods (e.g., t-tests, ANOVA) to examine differences based on gender, age, health status, psychological condition, and other variables. In the current application, the scale was administered to a sample of 97 women with breast cancer, yielding useful findings for the study of psychological adjustment to chronic illness.

References

Rosenberg, M. (1989). Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press.
Spanea, E., Anagnostopoulos, F., Kalantzi-Azizi, A., & Skarlos, D. (2005). Psychosocial adjustment of breast cancer patients. Hellenic Journal of Psychology, 2, 159–182.