Single-Item Self-Esteem Scale (SISE)

Abstract

The Single-Item Self-Esteem Scale (SISE) is a brief, highly efficient psychological instrument designed to measure an individual’s overall level of self-esteem. Developed by Robins and colleagues, the SISE consists of a single declarative statement rated on a 7-point Likert scale. It was created to provide a quick, reliable, and valid alternative to multi-item measures, such as the widely used Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), particularly in research settings where administration time is severely limited, such as large-scale surveys or longitudinal studies. Research has demonstrated that the SISE exhibits strong convergent validity with the RSES, confirming its utility as a powerful proxy for assessing global self-worth.

Keywords

Self-esteem, SISE, single-item measure, global self-esteem, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, self-worth, personality assessment.

Authors

Richard W. Robins, Hugh M. Hendin, Kenneth H. Trzesniewski

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Single-Item Self-Esteem Scale (SISE) is to efficiently capture an individual’s global evaluation of their self-worth. In large-scale epidemiological studies or high-volume data collection efforts, multi-item scales often introduce participant fatigue or dropout, potentially compromising data quality. The SISE addresses this limitation by reducing the measurement burden while retaining strong psychometric properties.

The developers specifically aimed to validate the SISE against the established criterion measure, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), demonstrating that a single, well-chosen item could effectively stand in for a longer scale without significant loss of predictive power. This efficiency makes the SISE particularly valuable for use in web-based surveys or research protocols that integrate numerous other measures.

Construct

The SISE measures the psychological construct of Global Self-Esteem. This construct is defined as an individual’s overall, subjective, emotional evaluation of their own worth. It represents the degree to which a person values, approves of, and respects themself. Global self-esteem is considered a relatively stable personality trait, distinct from temporary fluctuations in mood or state self-esteem.

The single item chosen for the SISE—”I have high self-esteem”—is explicitly phrased to tap directly into this overarching, global assessment, avoiding domain-specific evaluations (e.g., academic or social self-esteem) that are characteristic of multi-dimensional instruments. The success of the SISE suggests that global self-esteem is highly accessible and can be accurately summarized by participants using a direct, face-valid statement.

Validity

Extensive research has been conducted to establish the validity of the SISE, primarily through comparison with the RSES. Studies consistently show high levels of convergent validity, with correlations between the SISE and the RSES typically ranging from 0.70 to 0.80. This indicates that the SISE measures essentially the same construct as the established 10-item scale.

Furthermore, the SISE has demonstrated adequate discriminant validity, showing expected lower correlations with measures of conceptually distinct constructs. Crucially, studies examining predictive validity found that the SISE performed comparably to the RSES in predicting various outcomes, including psychological adjustment, academic achievement, interpersonal behavior, and other personality correlates. The strong performance across different validity metrics confirms that the SISE is a robust measure of global self-esteem.

Reliability

As a single-item measure, the SISE cannot be assessed using traditional measures of internal consistency, such as Cronbach’s alpha, which require multiple items. Therefore, reliability is primarily established through test-retest reliability.

Studies utilizing the SISE have reported moderate-to-high temporal stability over periods ranging from a few weeks to several months, indicating that the scale produces consistent scores over time. This temporal stability is similar to that observed for the RSES. The reliability findings support the use of the SISE as a stable measure of trait self-esteem, confirming that the single item is not overly sensitive to transient situational factors.

Factor Analysis

The application of factor analysis is inherently limited for a measure consisting of only one item. However, research supporting the SISE often involves subjecting both the SISE and the RSES simultaneously to factor analysis in a broader battery of measures. These studies consistently demonstrate that the SISE loads very highly onto the single underlying factor identified as global self-esteem, confirming its conceptual alignment with the construct measured by the multi-item scale. This statistical support provides strong evidence for the structural equivalence of the SISE item to the core factor underlying the RSES.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report psychological scale

Format: Single-item measure using a direct query on a Likert scale

Language Available: Primarily English, though easily translatable due to its simplicity.

Population Group: General population (validated across diverse samples)

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults (validated across the life span)

Population Details: Used extensively in college student samples, community samples, and large-scale longitudinal studies examining self-esteem trajectories.

Test Methodology: Participants respond to a single declarative sentence by selecting a number corresponding to the degree to which the statement is true of them.

Keywords

Psychometrics, single-item assessment, self-worth, personality psychology, SISE, global self-esteem, measurement efficiency, construct validation.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not consistently provided in original source documentation, requires external lookup.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not consistently provided in original source documentation.

Correspondence Address: Correspondence is typically directed to Richard W. Robins (e.g., Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The SISE is generally considered an instrument available for academic and research use, provided proper citation is given to the validating works (Robins et al., 2001). No standard fee is typically associated with the use of this single item. The primary validation and publication year is 2001.

The original PDF documentation for this instrument, which includes context and scoring information, can be downloaded here: http://fetzer.org/sites/default/files/images/stories/pdf/selfmeasures/Self_Measures_for_Self-Esteem_SINGLE-ITEM_SELF-ESTEEM.pdf

Reference’s

• Robins, R. W., Hendin, H. M., & Trzesniewski, K. H. (2001). Measuring Global Self-Esteem: Construct Validation of a Single-Item Measure and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 151-161.
• Robins, R. W., Tracy, J. L., Trzesniewski, K. H., Potter, J, & Gosling, S. D. (2001). Personality Correlates of Self-Esteem. Journal of Research in Personality, 35, 463-482.
• Robins, R. W., Trzesniewski, K. H., Tracy, J. L., Gosling, S. D., & Potter, J. (2002). Global self-esteem across the life-span. Psychology and Aging, 17, 423-434.

Items of the Single-Item Self-Esteem Scale (SISE)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

I have high self-esteem.

Not very true of me 1 — 2 — 3 — 4 — 5 — 6 — 7 Very true of me.