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An Application of the LC-LSTM Framework to the Self-esteem Instability Case

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2025

Guido Alessandri*
Affiliation:
Sapienza, University of Rome
Michele Vecchione
Affiliation:
Sapienza, University of Rome
Brent M. Donnellan
Affiliation:
Michigan State University
John Tisak
Affiliation:
Bowling Green State University
*
Requests for reprints should be sent to Guido Alessandri, Psychology Department, “Sapienza”, University of Rome, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

The present research evaluates the stability of self-esteem as assessed by a daily version of the Rosenberg (Society and the adolescent self-image, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1965) general self-esteem scale (RGSE). The scale was administered to 391 undergraduates for five consecutive days. The longitudinal data were analyzed using the integrated LC-LSTM framework that allowed us to evaluate: (1) the measurement invariance of the RGSE, (2) its stability and change across the 5-day assessment period, (3) the amount of variance attributable to stable and transitory latent factors, and (4) the criterion-related validity of these factors. Results provided evidence for measurement invariance, mean-level stability, and rank-order stability of daily self-esteem. Latent state-trait analyses revealed that variances in scores of the RGSE can be decomposed into six components: stable self-esteem (40 %), ephemeral (or temporal-state) variance (36 %), stable negative method variance (9 %), stable positive method variance (4 %), specific variance (1 %) and random error variance (10 %). Moreover, latent factors associated with daily self-esteem were associated with measures of depression, implicit self-esteem, and grade point average.

Type
Original Paper
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 The Psychometric Society

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