Psychology Statistics data report project

82 C a n a d i a n J o u r n a l o f C o u n s e l l i n g / R e v u e canadienne de c o u n s e l i n g / 1 9 9 7 , V o l . 31:1

Norms and Construct Validity of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale i n Canadian H i g h School Populations: Implications for Counselling

Christopher Bagley University of Calgary Floyd Bolitho University of South Australia Lome Bertrand Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family

Abstract

A r a n d o m sample of A l b e r t a h i g h schools yielded data for 1,084 males a n d 1,024 females. Measures completed i n c l u d e d the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. W i t h i n each age a n d sex group a strong, unrotated factor was invariant. T h e r e was significant variation o f mean scores across age-groups within female students. In each age group females had significantly lower self- esteem than males. Evidence o f construct validity is derived from correlations with behaviour p r o b l e m categories; the M c M a s t e r measure o f family relationships; and self-completion meas- ures o f school climate, a n d physical a n d sexual victimization i n school. Possible uses for self- esteem measures i n school counselling are proposed.

R é s u m é

U n é c h a n t i l l o n p r é l e v é au hasard d ' é c o l e s secondaires en Alberta a fourni des d o n n é e s de 1,084 é t u d i a n t s et de 1,024 é t u d i a n t e s . Parmi les mesures accomplies figurait l ' E c h e l l e d u respect de soi Rosenberg. A l ' i n t é r i e u r de chaque groupe é t a b l i selon l ' â g e et le sexe, u n facteur solide et n o n a l t e r n é é t a i t invariant. Il y avait une variation significative des scores moyens entre les tranches d ' â g e , à l ' i n t é r i e u r d u groupe des é t u d i a n t e s . Dans chaque tranche d ' â g e , les jeunes femmes avaient u n respect de soi c o n s i d é r a b l e m e n t i n f é r i e u r à c e l u i des jeunes hommes. L a preuve de la validité de construction de l ' E c h e l l e Rosenberg vient des c o r r é l a t i o n s entre les c a t é g o r i e s de troubles d u comportement; la mesure M c M a s t e r des relations familiales; et des mesures que les é t u d i a n t s ont r e m p l i e u x - m ê m e s au sujet d u climat scolaire et de l ' i n t i m i d a t i o n physique et sexuelle à l ' é c o l e . O n propose des utilisations possibles des mesures d u respect de soi p o u r le c o u n s e l i n g scolaire.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Self-esteem, the m a n n e r i n w h i c h an i n d i v i d u a l evaluates self- characteristics relative to the perceived characteristics o f peers, is a crucial variable for u n d e r s t a n d i n g identity development, a n d u n d e r p i n s the development o f m e n t a l health adjustment ( Y o u n g & Bagley, 1982; Bagley & Y o u n g , 1990). Self-esteem a n d self-concept (salient self charac- teristics w h i c h the i n d i v i d u a l considers worthy o f evaluation) can be measured i n g l o b a l terms (by an affective construct by w h i c h many aspects o f self-functioning a n d self-worth are evaluated), o r by m o r e specific evaluations o f role performance (e.g. performance i n r e a d i n g , mathematics, i n sport etc.). By adolescence the y o u n g person w i l l have

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale 83

a c q u i r e d a stable set o f self-evaluations so that it becomes increasingly l i k e l y that even specific tasks (e.g. academic learning) w i l l be e n h a n c e d o r i n h i b i t e d by pre-existing self-esteem.

A l t h o u g h there are many different measures o f self-esteem available for teachers a n d counsellors, a review o f available measures by Blascovich a n d T o m a k a (1991) indicates that eleven measures o f the several d o z e n available have g o o d evidence o f reliability a n d validity a n d widespread use by researchers. T h e most frequently used o f these measures is the R o s e n b e r g Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) (Blascovich & T o m a k a , 1991) fol- lowed by the C o o p e r s m i t h scale (Bagley, 1989), the Piers-Harris Scale (Bagley & M a l l i c k , 1978), a n d the Tennessee Scale ( R o i d & Fitts, 1988). These four scales account for 60 percent o f the j o u r n a l citations o f self-esteem a n d self-concept studies. Since the p r i n c i p l e measures o f g l o b a l self-esteem usually have intercorrelations o f a r o u n d 0.6 to 0.7 (Blascovich & T o m a k a , 1991) the selection o f a particular measure may rest o n criteria such as the brevity o f the scale, a n d the ease with w h i c h i n d i v i d u a l s with relatively p o o r r e a d i n g skills can understand it. T h e R o s e n b e r g Self-Esteem Scale i n its brevity (10 items), a n d its easy-to- understand format is, i n A m e r i c a n research, the instrument o f choice for use with adolescent populations. In the standard text o n psychological measurements, Blascovich a n d T o m a k a (1991) observe:

The Rosenberg SES has enjoyed widespread use and utility as a unidimensional measure of self-esteem. In fact, the SES is the standard against which new measures are evaluated. Its ease of administration, scoring, and brevity underlie our recom- mendation for the use of the SES as a straightforward estimate of positive or negative feelings about the self. (p. 123)

Rosenberg's SES was d e v e l o p e d for use i n state-wide U . S . studies o f the adaptation o f y o u t h (Rosenberg, 1965; Rosenberg & S i m m o n s , 1972), a n d was used by K a p l a n a n d P o k o r n e y (1976) a n d K a p l a n (1980) i n seminally i m p o r t a n t work o n the predictive power o f self-esteem. In K a p l a n ' s study a c o h o r t o f 4,694 c h i l d r e n e n t e r i n g j u n i o r h i g h schools i n H o u s t o n , Texas i n 1969, c o m p l e t e d a 7-item version o f the RSES ( i n c l u d - i n g the five negatively w o r d e d statements, a n d two positively w o r d e d statements i n the RSES) to construct a scale o f "self-derogation." Follow- u p o f this c o h o r t into a d u l t h o o d f o u n d that low SES scores were strong predictors o f d e l i n q u e n t behaviours, u n w e d pregnancy, d r u g use, a n d suicidal behaviours. T h e clear i m p l i c a t i o n o f these findings is that i f negative self-esteem can be d i m i n i s h e d i n the elementary o r j u n i o r h i g h school years, many negative behaviours associated with i m p a i r e d self- esteem m i g h t be avoided.

T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f the RSES i n p r e d i c t i n g d e l i n q u e n c y a n d depres- sion has been r e p l i c a t e d i n studies o f large, n a t i o n a l cohorts o f adoles- cents by R o s e n b e r g a n d R o s e n b e r g (1978) a n d Rosenberg, S c h o o l e r a n d S c h o e n b a c h (1989). T h e m o d e l o f d e l i n q u e n c y causation using self-

84 C h r i s t o p h e r Bagley, Floyd B o l i t h o , L o m e Bertrand

esteem as a key, predictive variable has been replicated with H o n g K o n g adolescents ( L e u n g & L a u , 1989), suggesting that the m o d e l has strong, cross-cultural validity.

T h e RSES was devised as a unitary scale, a n d A m e r i c a n work has consistently f o u n d a l p h a values i n excess o f 0.85 for the scale. However, K a p l a n a n d P o k o m e y ( 1976) f o u n d that while there was a strong general factor i n the scale, rotation o f factors d i d demonstrate a two-factor solution with positively w o r d e d items (e.g. "I take a positive attitude towards myself') l o a d i n g o n the first c o m p o n e n t , a n d negatively w o r d e d items (e.g. "I certainly feel useless at times") l o a d i n g o n the second. T h e two c o m p o n e n t s were described by K a p l a n a n d P o k o r n e y (1976) as "defense o f fndividual self-worth" a n d "self-derogation." S h a h a n i , D i p b o y e a n d P h i l l i p s (1990) i n a study o f 1,762 U.S. adults c o n f i r m e d this two-factor structure i n the scale, but also argue that the scale can be regarded psychometrically as h a v i n g a coherent, u n i f i e d structure. Vallieres a n d V a l l e r a n d (1990) using confirmatory factor analysis t h r o u g h L I S R E L with data from Q u e b e c students c o m p l e t i n g a F r e n c h version o f the RSES, also f o u n d that the RSES h a d a u n i f i e d factor structure, with all items h a v i n g h i g h loadings o n a general factor.

C A N A D I A N S T U D I E S O F H I G H S C H O O L P O P U L A T I O N S U S I N G T H E R O S E N B E R G S E S

A c o m p u t e r i z e d literature search i n d i c a t e d that over 1,000 A m e r i c a n studies have used the R o s e n b e r g SES with h i g h school a n d j u n i o r college populations. P u b l i s h e d C a n a d i a n studies using this scale, however, are remarkably few. T h e f o l l o w i n g studies are all those that can be located: L a z u r e a n d Persinger, 1992; Beales a n d B r o o k , 1990; Vallieres a n d V a l - l e r a n d , 1990; Byrne, 1983 a n d 1990; Byrne a n d Shavelson, 1986 a n d 1987). A somewhat larger n u m b e r o f C a n a d i a n studies have studied o l d e r college student a n d adult populations.

T h e most comprehensive o f the C a n a d i a n studies o f Adolescents are those o f O n t a r i o h i g h school populations (grades 9 to 13) carried out by Byrne a n d colleagues (1983, 1986, 1987, 1990). T h i s work has e x p l o r e d , using c o m p l e x statistical m o d e l l i n g techniques, the reliability o f some measures o f general self-esteem ( i n c l u d i n g the Rosenberg S E S ) , the relationship o f these scales with measures o f academic self-concept, a n d the degree to w h i c h the c o m p l e x factor structure o f several self-esteem a n d self-concept measures are c o m p a r a b l e across sex groupings. Byrne (1983) showed that the RSES h a d adequate internal reliability, a n d test- retest c o r r e l a t i o n o f 0.61 over a 7-month p e r i o d i n 929 O n t a r i o h i g h school students i n grades 9 to 12. Byrne a n d Shavelson (1986, 1987) also used the RSES scale total i n p r i n c i p a l c o m p o n e n t analysis w h i c h i n - c l u d e d other measures o f self-esteem. T h e o n l y available C a n a d i a n study

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale 85

w h i c h carried out a factor analysis o f the scale items is that o f Vallieres and V a l l e r a n d (1990), using a French-language version o f the R S E S .

B A C K G R O U N D O F T H E P R E S E N T S T U D Y

T h e measures r e p o r t e d i n the present research were c o l l e c t e d as part o f a 1993 study o f substance use by A l b e r t a adolescents ( B e r t r a n d , S m i t h , B o l i t h o & H o r n i c k , 1994). Stratified r a n d o m s a m p l i n g identified n i n e s c h o o l districts with schools i n the p u b l i c a n d d e n o m i n a t i o n a l sectors, representative o f u r b a n , small town a n d rural areas i n all parts o f the Province o f A l b e r t a , y i e l d i n g a sample o f 1,084 male a n d 1,024 female students. Besides the R o s e n b e r g S E S , students c o m p l e t e d the M c M a s t e r measure o f family relationships; a description o f s c h o o l climate, a n d personal v i c t i m i z a t i o n (physical a n d sexual) i n school; a n d measures o f personal adjustment. T h e adjustment scales were those with established reliability a n d validity i n the O n t a r i o C h i l d H e a l t h Study (Sanford, O f f o r d , Boyle & Pearce, 1992).

T h e measure o f family relationships is the "general f u n c t i o n i n g sub- scale" from the M c M a s t e r family assessment device (Epstein, B a l d w i n & B i s h o p , 1983). T h i s 12-item scale contains items such as "There are a lot o f b a d feelings i n o u r family" a n d "In times o f crisis we can turn to each other for support." T h i s scale has been used i n a n u m b e r o f previous studies to measure the h e a l t h / p a t h o l o g y o f families with regard to p a r e n t i n g styles, c o m m u n i c a t i o n , parental affection, a n d cohesiveness. T h e a l p h a value for this scale i n the A l b e r t a sample was .90. T h e measure o f s c h o o l climate was specially devised for this study, a n d contains items such as 'Teachers i n my s c h o o l care about students' w o r k " a n d ' T h e r e is a lot o f fighting between students i n o r a r o u n d the s c h o o l . " S c o r i n g o f some items was reversed, so that a h i g h score o n this scale indicates p e r c e p t i o n o f a positive s c h o o l e n v i r o n m e n t ; a l p h a for this scale is 0.78, i n d i c a t i n g satisfactory i nt er nal reliability. T h e b r i e f measures o f physical a n d sexual harassment i n s c h o o l were specially devised for this study, a n d i n c l u d e items such as "Has someone slapped o r hit y o u i n anger?" a n d "Has someone t o u c h e d the private parts o f your body w h e n y o u d i d n ' t want them to?"

G i v e n the theoretical a n d substantive i m p o r t a n c e o f the A m e r i c a n work o n the R o s e n b e r g SES a n d the dearth o f studies using this scale i n C a n a d a , we present the means, standard deviations a n d a l p h a re- liabilities for the scale by age a n d sex groups i n o u r A l b e r t a h i g h school samples. P r i n c i p a l c o m p o n e n t analysis has been e m p l o y e d i n o r d e r to e x a m i n e the structure a n d i n t e r n a l reliability o f the scale. C o r r e l a t i o n o f the scale with measures o f family relationships, a n d s c h o o l e n v i r o n m e n t have been used as cross-validators o n the assumption that quality o f family life a n d s c h o o l e n v i r o n m e n t are i m p o r t a n t antecedents o f self- esteem ( C o o p e r s m i t h , 1967; Bagley, Verma, M a l l i c k & Y o u n g , 1979).

86 C h r i s t o p h e r Bagley, Floyd B o l i t h o , L o m e Bertrand

T A B L E 1 General Factor of Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale Items

Within Age Groups: Males

General Factor (loadings of 1st unrotated factor) Scale Item* 12-19 18-19 16-17 14-15 12-13

1. Satisfied with self .69 .71 .65 .69 .73 2. I'm no good at all .67 .59 .65 .67 .72 3. Have good qualities .65 .73 .63 .65 .64 4. I can do things as well

as others .59 .61 .58 .63 .50 5. I don't have ç i u c h to

be p r o u d o f .71 .65 .70 .72 .72 6. I feel useless .66 .63 .61 .68 .73 7. I am a person o f worth .55 .52 .62 .56 .48 8. I don't respect myself .64 .50 .70 .60 .67 9. I ' m a failure .75 .73 .74 .74 .76

10. I have a positive self- attitude .75 .73 .77 .76 .73

% o f variance 44.7% 41.8% 44.7% 45.2% 45.6%

N o . o f respondents 1084 98 338 428 220

Scale mean 31.36 31.59 30.88 31.60 31.50 Standard deviation 5.13 4.65 5.14 5.14 5.36 A l p h a .86 .85 .90 .86 .85

% with very poor self- esteem (score < 21) 2.7% 1.0% 3.0% 2.1% 4.1%

* Scale items have been paraphrased a n d shortened. Since higher scores o n total scale indicate better self-esteem, negatively w o r d e d items (2, 5, 6, 8, 9) are scored i n a reverse d i r e c t i o n . M i n i m u m score o n scale is 10, m a x i m u m is 40.

Research u s i n g various tests o f self-esteem a n d self-evaluation have consistently shown that females are m o r e l i k e l y to be self-critical than males (e.g. M c D o n a l d & M c K i n n e y , 1994). Rather than i n d i c a t i n g p o o r e r self-esteem, however, this may reflect a f e m i n i n e response style o f b e i n g less self-declaratory o n the "powerful" aspects o f self, p l a c i n g m o r e emphasis o n interpersonal aspects o f self-appraisal ( G i l l i g a n , 1982, 1990). We hypothesized, therefore, that females w o u l d have significantly lower self-esteem scores than males.

R E S U L T S

P r i n c i p a l c o m p o n e n t analysis for each age a n d sex g r o u p i d e n t i f i e d a powerful general factor, a c c o u n t i n g for between 40 a n d 50 percent o f the

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale 87

T A B L E 2 General Factor of Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale Items

Within Age Groups: Females

General Factor (loadings of 1st unrotated factor) Scale Item* 12-19 18-19 16-17 14-15 12-13

1. Satisfied with self .76 .66 .78 .75 .80 2. I'm no good at all .64 .70 .59 .67 .60 3. Have good qualities .73 .73 .75 .69 .77 4. I can do things as well

as others .65 .60 .63 .67 .69 5. I don't have much to

be p r o u d of .74 .72 .72 .75 .72 6. I feel useless at times .63 .65 .60 .65 .64 7. I am a person of worth .67 .54 .73 .67 .61 8. I don't respect myself .66 .56 .67 .65 .69 9. I'm a failure .77 .72 .77 .75 .81

10. I have a positive self- attitude .80 .78 .79 .80 .79

% o f variance 50.2% 44.6% 51.1% 50.0% 51.9%

N o . o f students 1024 69 322 410 223

Scale mean 28.32 29.04 28.04 28.00 29.08 Standard deviation 5.49 5.11 5.42 5.48 5.81 A l p h a .89 .87 .89 .88 .89

% with very poor self- esteem (score < 21) 7.5% 4.3% 7.1% 7.6% 8.5%

* Scale items have been paraphrased a n d shortened. Since higher scores o n total scale indicate better self-esteem, negatively w o r d e d items (2, 5, 6, 8, 9) are scored i n a reverse direction. M i n i m u m score o n scale is 10, m a x i m u m is 40.

total variance, a n d a second factor a c c o u n t i n g for some 12 percent o f variance i n scale items. N o o t h e r p r i n c i p a l c o m p o n e n t h a d an E i g e n - value greater than unity. V a r i m a x rotation o f the scale items does identify the two factors d e s c r i b e d by K a p l a n a n d P o k o r n y (1969); however, given the strength o f the g e n e r a l factor we present loadings for this unrotated, general factor i n Tables 1 a n d 2. A l p h a values for the RSES range f r o m 0.85 to 0.90. T h i s is e x p l i c a b l e i n l i g h t o f the fact that RSES was c o n - structed as a u n i d i m e n s i o n a l scale. M e a n values o f the SES are similar across the male age g r o u p i n g s .

T h e r e are, however, some significant variations i n m e a n RSES scores across the female age groups, with those aged 14 to 17 h a v i n g signifi- cantly lower self-esteem than those aged 12 to 13, a n d those aged 18 to 19

88 C h r i s t o p h e r Bagley, Floyd B o l i t h o , L o m e Bertrand

T A B L E 3 Correlations of Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale in Males

Variable 18-19 16-17 14-15 12-13

Ontario CHS Scales Somatic problems -.29 -.44 -.42 -.43 Hyperactivity -.39 -.27 -.26 -.40 Conduct disorder -.26 -.29 -.20 -.26 Emotional disorder -.60 -.58 -.50 -.54

Other Scales McMaster family relationships scale -.49 -.38 -.49 -.47

Positive school climate scale .32 .21 (.09) .32

Physical victimization i n school -.28 -.12* -.19 -.32

Sexual victimization i n school (-.07) (-.01) -.12* (-.08)

N o . o f respondents 98 338 428 220

(Correlations in brackets, not significant) * /><.05>.01 A l l other correlations p< .01.

T A B L E 4 Correlations of Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale in Females

Variable 18-19 16-17 14-15 12-13

Ontario CHS Scales Somatic problems -.37 -.36 -.44 -.49 Hyperactivity (-•09) -.37 -.41 -.34 Conduct disorder (-.20) -.27 -.38 -.34 Emotional disorder -.58 -.65 -.64 -.66

Other Scales McMaster family relationships scale -.51 -.45 -.54 -.48

Positive school climate scale (•12) .18 .31 .45

Physical victimization in school (-.04) -.20 -.22 -.35

Sexual victimization in school (.03) -.21 -.17 -.27

N o . o f respondents 69 322 410 223

(Correlations i n brackets, not significant) * /><.05>.01 A l l other correlations p< .01.

(t-tests, /><.05). T h e reasons for these variations are not clear. W i t h i n each age g r o u p females have significantly lower self-esteem than males o f similar age (all t-tests p< .01 ). Females were at least twice as l i k e l y as males to have "very p o o r self-esteem": this i n d i c a t e d responses o f "agree" o r

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale 89

"strongly agree" i n a d i r e c t i o n i m p l y i n g low self-esteem o n seven o r m o r e o f the items i n the 10-item scale.

Tables 3 a n d 4 present correlations g i v i n g evidence o f construct valid- ity for the R S E S . F o r b o t h males a n d females o f all ages, g o o d self-esteem is negatively correlated with the four sub-scales o f e m o t i o n a l a n d behav- i o u r disorders (somatic p r o b l e m s , c o n d u c t disorder, a n d e m o t i o n a l dis- o r d e r ) , with one e x c e p t i o n , that o f female students aged 18 a n d 19 for w h o m hyperactivity a n d c o n d u c t disorder d i d not correlate significantly with the R S E S . F o r a l l groups the e m o t i o n a l disorder scale has correla- tions i n excess o f -0.50 (p< .001 ). T h e e m o t i o n a l disorder scale includes items measuring depression, anxiety a n d suicidal feelings.

T h e M c M a s t e r measure o f family relationships also indicates evidence o f construct validity for the R S E S : correlations (all jfx.001) range f r o m -.38 to -.51 across the age a n d sex groups. Perceptions o f positive school climate provide less consistent evidence o f construct validity; neverthe- less, i n six o f the eight age a n d sex groups school climate is significantly related to RSES (p< .001 i n the six groups). F o r boys, physical victimiza- t i o n is l i n k e d to p o o r self-esteem, while for girls b o t h sexual a n d physical v i c t i m i z a t i o n is l i n k e d to p o o r self-esteem, with the exception o f students aged 18 a n d 19.

D I S C U S S I O N A N D C O N C L U S I O N

These findings indicate that the RSES is a reliable a n d potentially v a l i d scale for use with C a n a d i a n h i g h school students o f all ages. T h e R S E S means are close to those o b t a i n e d by Byrne ( 1990) with o l d e r h i g h school students i n O n t a r i o ; similar to those o b t a i n e d by Vallieres a n d V a l l e r a n d (1990) i n Q u e b e c , u s i n g a French-langauge version o f the RSES; a n d similar to those o b t a i n e d i n A m e r i c a n studies o f h i g h school students ( M c D o n a l d & M c K i n n e y , 1994). L i k e A m e r i c a n researchers, we f o u n d that males have h i g h e r scores o n the RSES than females, i n each o f the four age-group comparisons. We hesitate, however, before c o n c l u d i n g that females have "poorer" self-esteem than males, since the response style o f females to self-esteem questions may be less egoistic, a n d m o r e self-deprecating i n ways w h i c h i m p l y that relationship styles rather than self-aggrandizement are m o r e i m p o r t a n t 1 . W h a t is salient is that some females have very p o o r self-esteem relative to other females. T h e apparent d e c l i n e i n self-esteem i n females i n mid-adolescence i n o u r A l b e r t a sample is interesting, a n d possible reasons for this (such as changes i n sex role identification, o r psychosocial development) s h o u l d be e x p l o r e d i n further research. It is o f note that the finding o f d e c l i n i n g self-esteem i n females i n the m i d d l e years o f h i g h school has also been r e p o r t e d by Abernathy, Massad a n d Romano-Dwyer (1995) i n a T o r o n t o study o f several thousand students i n grades 6 t h o u g h 9, using the self-esteem scale d e v e l o p e d for the C a n a d a H e a l t h Attitudes a n d B e h a v i o u r Survey.

90 C h r i s t o p h e r Bagley, Floyd B o l i t h o , L o m e B e r t r a n d

A b e r n a t h y et al. (1995) i m p l y that this may be l i n k e d to the increase i n the p r o p o r t i o n o f females who begin to smoke i n the m i d d l e years o f h i g h school: females with low self-esteem i n grades 6 to 8 were about three times as l i k e l y to smoke as those with h i g h self-esteem. However, o t h e r psychosocial processes may u n d e r l i e b o t h b e g i n n i n g to smoke, a n d d e v e l o p i n g p o o r e r self-esteem i n girls i n mid-adolescence.

O u r findings have i m p l i c a t i o n s for school counsellors, i n terms o f the models p r o p o s e d i n o u r previous research (Bagley, 1976; Bagley et al., 1979; Bagley, 1992). In an E n g l i s h study, we c o n d u c t e d a c o n t r o l l e d intervention, r a n d o m l y a l l o c a t i n g h i g h school students who i n d i c a t e d b o t h suicidal i d e a t i o n a n d devastated self-esteem (scores i n the lowest 5% c o m p a r e d with scores o n the C o o p e r s m i t h scale scores for the entire c o h o r t o f 14 a n d 15-year o l d s ) . Intensive social interventions ( R o g e r i a n c o u n s e l l i n g ; t u i t i o n for those with p o o r scholastic achievement; task- linkage o f sociometrically isolated students with h i g h l y p o p u l a r students; a n d social w o r k assistance for families o f students e x p e r i e n c i n g poverty, family d i s r u p t i o n a n d divorce) was reflected a year later i n significant improvements i n self-esteem, a n d eclipse o f suicidal feelings i n focus students, i n c o m p a r i s o n with controls.

In a partial r e p l i c a t i o n o f this B r i t i s h work i n A l b e r t a , students c o m - pleted a measure o f stressful events, self-esteem, depression a n d s u i c i d a l ideas a n d b e h a v i o u r (Bagley, 1992). Results i n d i c a t e d that the strongest predictors o f p o o r self-esteem, depression a n d suicidality were family physical, sexual a n d e m o t i o n a l abuse, family d i s r u p t i o n , a n d parental a l c o h o l i s m . Students were e n c o u r a g e d to contact school counsellors, a n d a significant n u m b e r d i d so f o l l o w i n g the anonymous c o m p l e t i o n o f the questionnaires. T h i s design (ensuring student anonymity) d i d not p e r m i t a c o n t r o l l e d evaluation o f c o u n s e l l i n g . However, the results o f that study, a n d the data presented i n the present study strongly support the i d e a that i n every h i g h s c h o o l there is a g r o u p o f very distressed students, with devastated self-esteem a n d various psychological prob- lems, who m i g h t benefit f r o m c o u n s e l l i n g .

Note 1 Males who carry their "macho" sense o f self into a d u l t h o o d may fail, in Maslow's (1954)

term, to self-actualize. T h e m a c h o male is aggressive a n d competitive, rejecting intimacy a n d b o n d i n g relationships, seeking to express power over w o m e n , avoiding intimate b o n d s with b o t h m e n a n d w o m e n . W o m e n by contrast may experience a m o r e complete self- actualization t h r o u g h intimate b o n d s o f social support with the sisterhood o f w o m e n (Bagley & Y o u n g , 1990). Excessively h i g h levels o f self-esteem i n males may in some respects represent the narcissism o f "false self-esteem" w h i c h H w a n g (1995) categorizes as o n e o f the factors i n "the failure o f A m e r i c a n schools." A s counsellors attempting to enhance self-esteem in adolescents we s h o u l d avoid strategies which m i g h t result in what H a u s e r (1971) describes as "identity foreclosure." A l l c o u n s e l l i n g s h o u l d attempt not only to e n h a n c e self-esteem, but also to aid self-actualization (Bagley Sc Y o u n g , 1990).

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale 91

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About the Authors Dr. C h r i s Bagley was Professor o f C h i l d Welfare at the University o f Calgary for several year, before r e t u r n i n g to E n g l a n d to take a C h a i r o f Social Work Studies at the University o f Southampton. H e is the author o f several monographs o n c h i l d sexual abuse. Dr. Floyd B o l i t h o was Associate Professor o f Social Work at the University o f Calgary before returning to Australia. H e specializes i n the methodology o f social research, a n d is co-author o f a n u m b e r o f reports o n various social problems. Dr. L o m e B e r t r a n d is a Senior Research Associate with the C a n a d i a n Research Institute for Law a n d the Family, based within the Faculty o f Law at the University o f Calgary. H e is co-author of a n u m b e r o f reports o n legal problems o f families a n d c h i l d r e n .

Address correspondence to: Dr. C h r i s Bagley, Department o f Social Work Studies, University o f S o u t h a m p t o n , S o u t h a m p t o n S 0 1 7 1BJ, E n g l a n d .