2018 Volume 66 Issue 3 Pages 212-224
The results of exploratory factor analyses of some self-evaluation scales often reveal that such scales have 2 method factors: positive (non-reversed wording) and negative (reversed wording). The present study used the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Self-Efficacy Scale to examine whether these 2 factors exist generally in any self-evaluation scale, and, if so, how they are related to age differences. The participants were Japanese people (N = 2,830; age range, 15 to 69 years). Study 1 examined a hypothesized model consisting of 1 trait factor of self-esteem and the positive and negative method factors. The prediction of a higher correlation between the positive and negative factors as age increased was supported by the results. Study 2 analyzed the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Self-Efficacy Scale simultaneously. The results supported the model, which included 2 trait constructs and 4 method factors, with 1 trait construct and 2 method factors for each of the 2 scales. However, a series of correlational analyses suggested that there may be common method factors in the 2 self-evaluation scales, because the pattern of correlations between narcissism and the positive method factor on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was similar to the pattern of correlations between narcissism and the positive method factor on the Self-Efficacy Scale. Additionally, the pattern of correlations between participants' psychological stress responses and the negative method factor on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was similar to the pattern on the Self-Efficacy Scale. Moreover, these results suggest that changes due to age in the factor loadings of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Self-Efficacy Scale might be different.
