Examining Differential Item Functioning of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale across Eight Countries (in Press)

• Main Authors: Baranik, Lisa E., Meade, Adam W., Lakey, Chad E., Lance, Charles E., HU, Changya, HUA, Wei, MICHALOS, Alex
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2008
• Subjects: Organizational Behavior and Theory
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/2418; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/3417/viewcontent/J_Applied_Social_Pyschol___2008___Baranik___Examining_the_Differential_Item_Functioning_of_the_Rosenberg_Self_Esteem_Scale.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

We examined the differential item functioning (DIF) of Rosenberg's (1965) Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and compared scores from U.S. participants with those from 7 other countries: Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Kenya, South Africa, Singapore, and Taiwan. Results indicate that DIF was present in all comparisons. Moreover, controlling for latent self-esteem, participants from individualistic countries had an easier time reporting high self-esteem on self-competence-related items, whereas participants from communal countries had an easier time reporting high self-esteem on self-liking items (Tafarodi & Milne, 2002). After adjusting for DIF, we found larger mean self-esteem differences between the countries than observed scores initially indicated. The suitability of the RSES, and the importance of examining DIF, for cross-cultural research are discussed.