ABSTRACT
Most classic and contemporary researchers use the term “self-esteem” to refer to the individuals global sense of personal worth. Global self-esteem can be logically differentiated from self-evaluations of specific domains (e.g., academic self-esteem, social self-esteem, physical attractiveness) (Marsh, 1986, 1993), often referred to as self-concept. One of the most frequently used measures of global self-esteem is Rosenberg’s (1965) 10-item self-report questionnaire with items such as, “On the whole, I am satisfied with myself,” and “I certainly feel useless at times” (reverse-scored). Theorists and researchers have debated about the relationship between global and specific self-views, with some arguing that global self-worth represents the sum total of specific assessments of particular skills and attributes (a “bottom-up” perspective) and others (e.g., Brown, 1993) that global feelings about the self influence specific views of personal attributes (a “top-down” perspective). (In the latter view, global feelings of self-worth have their origin in inherited differences in temperament and early socialization experiences.)
