title: Equivalencies regarding the measurement and constructs of self-esteem and major life events in an Asian/Pacific islander sample.
abstract: Construct, scalar, and functional measurement equivalencies of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and Major Life Events checklist (MLE) and the constructs assessed were investigated across groups differentiated on Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian (e.g., Caucasian, Filipino, Hispanic, Japanese, and mixed/2 or more) ethnicity and gender. Initial results from maximum likelihood factoring with promax rotation showed that RSES negatively worded Item 5 loaded with the positively worded Items 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7 on 1 of 2 factors for Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian female participants. Similarly, negatively worded Item 8 and the same positively worded items comprised 1 of 2 factors for non-Hawaiian male participants. For the other 2 Ethnicity x Gender groups, factors were respectively comprised of the 5 positively and 5 negatively worded RSES items. Construct equivalence or simple (2-factor) structure underlying the RSES was indicated across the 4 groups after Items 5 and 8 were excluded from a subsequent factoring procedure. Simple structure showed that Factor 1 comprised the positively worded Items 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7, and the remaining negatively worded Items 3, 9, and 10 loaded on Factor 2. Scalar equivalence of the self-esteem and major life events measures was supported by the statistical nonsignificance of the Major Life Events x Ethnicity x Gender interaction effect in multiple regression models. The consistency in the absolute size and direction of the intercorrelations between overall self-esteem, self-esteem Factors 1 and 2, and major life events variables indicated the functional equivalence of respective measures and constructs assessed. Measurement equivalency findings concerning the RSES and MLE, the constructs measured, and their utility versus caution against their use in multiethnic studies were discussed.
authors.affiliation: Native Hawaiian Mental Health Research Development Program (NHMHRDP), John A. Burns School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1356 Lusitana Street, 4th Floor, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, USA. rob@hawaii.edu
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Hishinuma
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Nishimura
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Nahulu
authors.forename: N N
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: G K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Makini
authors.forename: N Y
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Yuen
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Goebert
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Carlton
authors.forename: C K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Bell
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001208:Asia / Q000208:ethnology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006254:Hawaii / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D008297:Male; D010139:Pacific Islands / Q000208:ethnology; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012649:Self Concept