Reliability, Dimensionality and Invariance of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale in Colombian Adolescents

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) is a widely used instrument for estimating self-steem in the adolescent population, however, little is known about psychometric performance in Colombian adolescents. The objective of this was to assess the internal consistency, dimensionality, and factorial invariance of RSES regarding context and sex in school adolescent. A validation study was conducted with 725 students aged 11-19 years (52.8 % female) from two Colombian regions (Nari & ntilde;o and Boyac & aacute;). Estimations of internal consistency using McDonald's omega, dimensional structure through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and factor invariance by sex and region of origin were done. RSES confirmed that the RSES has a two-dimensional structure with excellent fit of the data to the model [chi (2) (26) = 72.77; p <= 0.000; RMSEA = 0.05; CI 90 % 0.03-0.06; CFI = 0.96] and intercorrelated factors (r r = 0.44). McDonald's omega of 0.78 and 0.65 for self-esteem and self-contempt, respectively. It is concluded that RSES in Colombian adolescents presents adequate internal consistency and a two-dimensional structure and strong strict invariance according to sex and partial invariance according to region. The findings corroborate previous studies; however, more research is needed in Colombian contexts.