Self-Linking and Self-Competence as Dimensions of Global Self-Esteem: Initial Validation of a Measure

1995/10/01 by Romin W. Tafarodi, William B. Swann, William B. Swann Jr. · 4 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Cultural Differences and Values #International Student and Expatriate Challenges

paper · doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa6502_8

crossref issued 1995/10/01 · crossref published 1995/10/01 · crossref published-print 1995/10/01 · openalex publication_date 1995/10/01 · crossref created 2005/12/20 · crossref published-online 2010/06/10 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · crossref deposited 2024/02/01 · crossref indexed 2026/07/28 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31

Abstract

Three studies were conducted to validate the conceptualization of global self-esteem as consisting of two dimensions: a sense of social worth, or self-liking, and a sense of personal efficacy, or self-competence. In Study 1, confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the a priori structure of the Self-Liking/Self-Competence Scale, a self-report instrument designed to measure the two dimensions. In Study 2, a second structural analysis showed the dimensionality of Rosenberg's (1965) Self-Esteem Scale to parallel the proposed dichotomy. In Study 3, self-liking and self-competence were related to several theoretically linked constructs--depression, self-perceived abilities, and perceived parental approval--with the resulting pattern of correlations supporting their conceptualization as substantively distinct dimensions. The implications of these findings for understanding global self-esteem are discussed.

Citations

• Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency.
• Comparative fit indexes in structural models.
• Motivation reconsidered: The concept of competence.
• Tests for comparing elements of a correlation matrix.
• Comparative fit indexes in structural models.
• Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change.

Cited by

• Evolutionary Mismatch, Stress, and Competition: Making Sense of Psychosocial Problems in the Polycrisis Era
• Stigma Consciousness at Work
• When corporate social responsibility motivates employee citizenship behavior: The sensitizing role of task significance
• Personality Correlates of Self-Esteem

Related

• The Importance of Importance in the Physical Self: Support for the Theoretically Appealing but Empirically Elusive Model of James
• Stability and Change in Domain–Specific Self–Esteem and Global Self–Esteem
• Extending Structural Analyses of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale to Consider Criterion-Related Validity: Can Composite Self-Esteem Scores Be Good Enough?
• Measuring Self‐Esteem in Context: The Importance of Stability of Self‐Esteem in Psychological Functioning
• The Lifespan Self-Esteem Scale: Initial Validation of a New Measure of Global Self-Esteem