Self Esteem Theory and Measurement: A Critical Review

Abstract

Recently in North America, the self-esteem of children of immigrants and of adolescents from other cultures has been measured and compared with American-born adolescents using a scale developed over three decades ago in the United States. This study seeks to critically examine the theoretical assumptions behind this measure of self-esteem and the scale commonly used to measure the concept of self-esteem in order to discern whether they can apply adequately to adolescents of both genders and to adolescents from diverse cultural backgrounds. In this paper, I first give an historical overview of the concepts of self, self-esteem, and adolescence. Then, I critically analyze theoretical assumptions and methodological applications of the notion and measurement of self-esteem as utilized in the United States. Finally, I conclude that the existing assumptions about the concept of self-esteem reflect and are biased toward Western ideas of the self that are not inclusive of diverse cultural norms. My paper suggests that we refine our current universalistic notion of self-esteem to incorporate cultural diversity and gender socialization. This critical discussion is essential in an increasingly multicultural North American setting in which many currently held assumptions need to be challenged and revised.