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Global self-esteem and method effects: competing factor structures, longitudinal invariance, and response styles in
Róbert Urbán1, Réka Szigeti, Gyöngyi Kökönyei
1Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Psychology, Izabella u. 46, Budapest, 1064, Hungary, r.urban.bp@gmail.com.
Behavior Research Methods
|September 25, 2013
Summary
The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) has a single global factor, but method effects significantly influence adolescent responses. Girls and those with depressive symptoms showed lower self-esteem and a negative response style.
Area of Science:
- Psychological Measurement
- Adolescent Psychology
- Psychometrics
Background:
- The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) is a common tool for measuring self-esteem.
- Its underlying factor structure remains a subject of debate among researchers.
- Understanding response styles is crucial for accurate self-esteem assessment in adolescents.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare ten different models of the RSES factor structure.
- To quantify and predict method effects influencing RSES scores in adolescents.
- To validate a one-factor model of global self-esteem while accounting for method variances.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study design with data from 2,513 9th graders and 2,370 10th graders across five waves.
- Application of confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate ten alternative RSES models.
- Statistical modeling to identify and assess the impact of latent method factors.
Main Results:
- A model with one global self-esteem factor and two latent method factors demonstrated the best fit to the data.
- The global self-esteem factor accounted for a substantial portion of common variance (46%-61%).
- Negative method factors significantly contributed to common variance (34%-41%), while positive method factors contributed less (5%-13%).
Conclusions:
- The study supports a single, global self-esteem construct measured by the RSES in adolescents.
- Method effects, conceptualized as response styles, significantly impact RSES scores.
- Female gender and higher depressive symptoms were associated with lower self-esteem and a negative response style.
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