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Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)
Updated over a year ago

Brief Description

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) is a widely used assessment of self-esteem by measuring both positive and negative feelings about the self. It can be used to track the level of one’s self-esteem in treatment over time. Respondents rate their level of agreement with the statements about oneself listed (e.g., “All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure”) on a scale from “Strongly disagree” to “Strongly agree.”


Assessment Administration Type

Self-report


Number of questions

10


Age Range for Administration

13+


Recommended Frequency of Administration

No standardized frequency; recommend administering every other week or as clinically indicated.


Summary of Scoring and Interpretations

The RSES contains 10 questions scored on a 4-point Likert scale with values from 0 (“Strongly disagree”) to 3 (“Strongly agree”). A total score is calculated by summing the item responses and ranges from 0 to 30; note, Items 2, 5, 6, 8, and 9 are reverse-coded. Higher scores are associated with higher levels of self-esteem. See the table below for score interpretations.

Score

Interpretation

0-14

Low self-esteem

15-25

Normal self-esteem

26-30

High self-esteem

Blueprint Adjustments

  • Note, some RSES measures use a Likert scale from 1-4, instead of 0-3. Blueprint’s RSES Likert scale goes from 0-3.


Clinical Considerations

  • Estimated completion time: 2 - 4 minutes

  • Generally, research has demonstrated that self-esteem has been linearly and negatively correlated with mood and anxiety disorders (i.e., low self-esteem has been associated with greater mood and anxiety disorders).

  • Some studies have delineated two separate components/factors:

    • Self-Confidence (Items 1-5): feeling that you are confident, capable and efficacious.

    • Self-Liking (Items 6-10): feeling that you are good, socially relevant and maintain group harmony.


Citation

Relevant Articles + Further Resources


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