by Edward J. O'Brien, PhD, Seymour Epstein, PhD
Qualification Level: B
Purpose: Measure global self-esteem and its eight components
Age: Adult
Admin: Individual
Time: 15-30 minutes
The MSEI, based on a coherent model of self-concept and self-esteem, measures global self-esteem and its eight components: Competence, Lovability, Likability, Personal Power, Self-Control, Moral Self-Approval, Body Appearance, and Body Functioning.
The MSEI also contains two unique scales: Identity Integration measures global self-concept; Defensive Self-Enhancement differentiates between "truly high" and "defensively high" self-esteem.
The 4-page Test Booklet contains two parts. In Part 1, respondents report how accurately each of 61 items describes them. In Part 2, they report how frequently they experience each of an additional 55 items. The responses are entered on a 2-part carbonless Rating Form. The Profile Form yields a graph of the scores with T scores and percentiles by sex.
The MSEI was normed on 785 university students. All scales, except Defensive Self-Enhancement, demonstrated internal consistency reliability coefficients of .80 or higher. Sex differences occurred on all scales except Identity Integration. The Manual contains complete reliability and validity data for all MSEI scales
