Correlations between self-defeating personality and self-esteem

41 men and 56 women completed Schill's self-defeating personality scale and Coopersmith's self-esteem scale. The total scores from these instruments were significantly negatively correlated (ranges, -.50 to -.77). The inverse relationship between self-defeating personality and self-esteem appears to be higher for men than for women. However, no significant differences were found between the men's and women's scores on self-esteem or self-defeating personality scales. The results indicate the two scales measure similar but inverse orientations of individuals' internalized negative affect.