Establishing the validity and reliability of the state self-esteem scale

Abstract

Introduction Self-esteem is a feeling of self worth. Positive self-esteem can buffer stress by enhancing the implementation of efficacious coping strategies; poor self-esteem can result in diminishing self-appreciation and creating self-defeating attitudes. While self-esteem could be regarded as a stable trait that predicts future behavior, it could be argued that situational and environmental factors will change it. Self-esteem is a major factor determining recovery, rehabilitation and integration for stroke patients, with longitudinal studies showing it to be a significant predictor of physical, social and psychological functioning. Thus, there is a need for a valid and reliable measure of self-esteem. Although the Chinese version of the State Self-Esteem Scale (SSES) has been used in this population, no study has examined its construct validity and reliability. Methods Data from 265 Chinese stroke patients before discharge from two rehabilitation hospitals were factor analysed using principal-components analysis (PCA) with oblique rotation. The Kaiser rule and scree test were used to decide the number of components to be retained. An internal consistency analysis of the SSES was also conducted. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were calculated between the SSES and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) to determine convergent validity. Results The final factor solution comprised a three-factor model with correlated constructs, and accounted for 49.5% of the total variance. The eigenvalue of the three factors were 5.07 (performance self-esteem), 2.34 (appearance self-esteem), and 1.99 (social self-esteem) respectively. The factor loadings for the items showed that they were adequate indicators of their respective factors (all >0.3). All items except for Item 7 (“I am dissatisfied with my weight”) loaded primarily on one of the factors. Cronbach alphas for the SSES subscales ranged from 0.73– 0.81. Significant negative correlations were found between the GDS and the SSES subscale scores (r-0.31 to -0.55,