Self-Esteem in 60 Seconds: The Six-Item State Self-Esteem Scale (SSES-6)

Abstract

With 20 items, the State Self-Esteem Scale (SSES) can be cumbersome in settings that demand efficiency. The present research created an efficient six-item version of the SSES that preserves score reliability and validity and its three-dimensional structure: social, appearance, and performance self-esteem. Item response theory and confirmatory factor analyses identified the "best" six items-two from each dimension (Study 1). Participants completed the SSES four times at 2-week intervals (Studies 2 and 3). The six-item SSES' scores showed adequate test-retest reliability, explained substantial variance in trait-relevant measures, and showed convergent validity with related self-esteem measures. Participants completed the SSES and a laboratory experiment where they received negative feedback on an essay they had written and could retaliate against their evaluator by allocating hot sauce for them to consume (Study 4). The six-item SSES interacted with self-esteem instability in expected ways to predict hot sauce allocated.

Keywords: aggression; item response theory; multilevel modeling; self-esteem; state self-esteem.