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Cognitive Abilities Explain Wording Effects in the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.

Timo Gnambs1, Ulrich Schroeders2

  • 1Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories, Bamberg, Germany.

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|December 20, 2017
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Summary

Cognitive abilities influence the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) factor structure. Higher reading and reasoning skills reduce wording effects from negatively keyed items, suggesting a response style artifact.

Keywords:
cognitive abilitiesdimensionalityfactor structureself-esteemstructural equation modeling

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Area of Science:

  • Psychological assessment
  • Educational psychology
  • Psychometrics

Background:

  • The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) is widely used but known to have wording effects due to positively and negatively keyed items.
  • Cognitive abilities are hypothesized to interact with item wording, potentially influencing scale structure and interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of cognitive abilities on the factor structure of the RSES.
  • To examine how wording effects in the RSES are moderated by individual differences in cognitive skills.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a large-scale German assessment dataset of 12,437 students.
  • Employed local structural equation models, a nonparametric latent variable technique.
  • Compared competing measurement models, including a bifactor model, to assess RSES structure.

Main Results:

  • A bifactor model, with a general factor and a specific factor for negatively worded items, demonstrated the best fit for the RSES.
  • Local structural equation models revealed that higher reading competence and reasoning skills enhanced the unidimensionality of the RSES.
  • The proportion of variance attributable to negatively keyed items decreased as cognitive abilities increased.

Conclusions:

  • Wording effects in the RSES appear to be a response style artifact linked to cognitive abilities.
  • Cognitive abilities play a significant role in how individuals respond to and process self-esteem scale items.
  • Findings suggest that cognitive assessment may be important for a more accurate interpretation of RSES scores.