Revised date (4 October 2006)
61
Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE)
Author: Morris Rosenberg
The purpose of the 10 item RSE scale is to measure self-esteem. Originally the measure
was designed to measure the self-esteem of high school students. However, since its
development, the scale has been used with a variety of groups including adults, with
norms available for many of those groups.
Scoring: As the RSE is a Guttman scale, scoring can be a little complicated. Scoring
involves a method of combined ratings. Low self-esteem responses are “disagree” or
“strongly disagree” on items 1, 3, 4, 7, 10, and “strongly agree” or “agree” on items 2, 5,
6, 8, 9. Two or three out of three correct responses to items 3, 7, and 9 are scored as one
item. One or two out of two correct responses for items 4 and 5 are considered as a single
item; items 1,8, and 10 are scored as individual items; and combined correct responses
(one or two out of two) to items 2 and 6 are considered to be a single item.
The scale can also be scored by totalling the individual 4 point items after reverse-scoring
the negatively worded items.
Reliability: The RSE demonstrates a Guttman scale coefficient of reproducibility of .92,
indicating excellent internal consistency. Test-retest reliability over a period of 2 weeks
reveals correlations of .85 and .88, indicating excellent stability.
Validity: Demonstrates concurrent, predictive and construct validity using known
groups. The RSE correlates significantly with other measures of self-esteem, including
the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory. In addition, the RSE correlates in the predicted
direction with measures of depression and anxiety.
Reference:
Rosenberg, M. (1979). Conceiving the Self. New York: Basic Books.
