Appraisal self-respect: Scale validation and construct implications

• Published in: Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) Vol. 42; no. 23; pp. 19681 - 19698
• Main Authors: Clucas, Claudine, Corr, Philip, Wilkinson, Heather, Schepman, Astrid
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.08.2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavioral Science and Psychology; Evaluation; Psychological tests; Psychology; Self esteem; Social Sciences; United Kingdom; Moral self; Honour; Self-esteem; Self-respect; Integrity
• ISSN: 1046-1310; 1936-4733
• DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03093-z

Despite the widely accepted recognition of the notion of self-respect and its importance for emotional well-being, it has received scant attention in the psychological literature. We report on the development and validation of a scale to measure trait (character-based) appraisal self-respect (ASR), conceptualised as a disposition to perceive or appraise oneself as being a respectworthy honourable person. We tested the factor structure, reliability, convergent, discriminant and criterion validity of the ASR scale in samples of adult individuals (combined N = 1910 across samples). The resulting ASR scale was found to be essentially unidimensional and showed good internal and acceptable test-retest reliability. Trait ASR was correlated with (yet distinct from) theoretically related measures of global self-esteem, moral self and principledness, and was distinct from other self-esteem facets not based on honourable character traits. Importantly, it related to well-being and prosocial behaviour over-and-above self-esteem. The validation work served to consolidate the theoretical boundaries and utility of this important concept.