Brief Description
The Adolescent Self-Esteem Questionnaire (ASEQ) is a global measure of self-esteem. Global self-esteem is an individual’s assessment of themselves in general, or their overall feelings about themselves relative to others. While self-esteem is generally lower in adolescence, low self-esteem is associated with academic underachievement and risk-taking behaviors (e.g., substance use), as well as with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and disordered eating.
Assessment Administration Type
Adolescent Self-Report
Number of questions
12
Age Range for Administration
14-17
Recommended Frequency of Administration
No standardized frequency; recommend administering every other week or as clinically indicated.
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
The ASQ includes 12 items on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 (“Almost all of the time”) to 5 (“Hardly ever”). There are both negatively and positively framed items. Item scores are summed, with positively worded items reverse coded, to determine a client’s self-esteem score, with a higher score reflecting higher levels of self-esteem.
Blueprint Adjustments
N/A
Clinical Considerations
There is evidence that the ASEQ is comparable to the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). However, authors of the ASEQ note that its language is more updated and also reflects a cultural shift with how social media has impacted adolescent body image as compared to the RSES, which was published in 1965.
According to past research using the ASEQ:
Males tend to report higher self-esteem levels than females.
On average, younger adolescents report higher self-esteem scores than older adolescents.
Adolescents with major depressive disorder score significantly lower on the ASEQ as compared to non-depressed peers.
See the table below for mean scores on the ASEQ by age and sex (collected from an Australian sample of adolescents in 2013-2014):
Citation
Hafekost, K., Boterhoven de Haan, K., Lawrence, D., Sawyer, M.G., and Zubrick, S.R., (2017). Validation of the Adolescent Self-Esteem Questionnaire: Technical Report: Telethon Kids Institute and the Graduate School of Education. The University of Western Australia. Perth, Australia.
Relevant Articles + Further Resources
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