Self esteem levels vs global scores on the Rosenberg self-esteem scale

• Published in: Heliyon Vol. 5; no. 3; p. e01378
• Main Authors: García, Jorge Acosta, y Olmos, Francisco Checa, Matheu, Manuel Lucas, Carreño, Tesifón Parrón
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2019; Elsevier
• Subjects: Psychology; Psychology
• ISSN: 2405-8440; 2405-8440
• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01378

The Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSS) is the most widely used instrument to measure this trait. Although the test offers results by levels (low, medium & high), the mean of global scores it is the indicator mostly used in scientific studies. The purpose of this study is to compare self-esteem levels with the global scores as criteria for contrasting self-esteem in subjects with and without a History of Childhood Sexual Abuse (HCSA). RSS was administered to 74 subjects between 17 and 60 years, half of them with a HCSA, 20 men and 54 women; subjects without a HCSA were used as a comparison group. Using the mean of the global scores as a criterion to compare the two groups, no significant differences were observed. However, when using self-esteem levels as a criterion, the findings indicate significant differences between subjects with and without HCSA. The study shows that self-esteem levels are more accurate than global scores to describe this trait and to make comparisons between groups of subjects.