Analysing global dimensions of self-esteem: factorial structure and reliability of the self-liking/self-competence scale

Positive/negative self-esteem and self-worth/self-competence models provide mutually exclusive explanations of the dimensionality of global esteem. Comparative analysis of the two models was conducted, by examining the factor structure of the Self-Liking/Self-Competence Scale (SLCS), a recently developed instrument with balanced item valences. Three principal component factors were derived from the SLCS item pool on a sample of 480 Australian undergraduates. The factors were interpreted as “positive selfattitudes”, “self-disliking” and “self-incompetence”. This indicates that only negative self-attitude items elicit responses that confirm the self-worth/self-competence distinction, whereas positive self-attitudes tend to remain undifferentiated. The findings partially support each of the two competing self-esteem models. However, they suggest that both valence-based and self-worth/self-competence models may need to be combined in a more realistic conceptualisation of global self-esteem. This confirms the importance of capturing the affective nature of self-esteem and, hence, the need for more indirect measurement procedures sensitive to implicit self-views.