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The Rosenberg self-esteem test: the 10-item scale most used in research

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) was created by sociologist Morris Rosenberg and published in 1965, in the book "Society and the Adolescent Self-Image". It has 10 statements about how a person feels about themselves, answered on a 4-point scale (from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree"). It is by far the most used measure of global self-esteem in psychology and the social sciences, and in Brazil it appears as the most cited instrument on this topic in surveys of psychological assessment articles.

This quiz uses the 10 items of the scale, the same 10 to 40 scoring, and shows your result in a range, in plain language, with practical steps and what to do if the weight persists. It is meant to observe how you evaluate yourself today, not to say how much you are worth. It is also not a diagnosis of anything, and this text explains why the ranges are only descriptive.

Licence, scoring, translation and limits

Licence: the University of Maryland Department of Sociology, where Rosenberg taught, declares the scale to be in the public domain: it can be used without charge and without notifying the department, including in translations and adaptations, following traditional scholarly attribution (https://socy.umd.edu/about-us/rosenberg-self-esteem-scale). The English items are those of the university's official sheet; citation: Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the Adolescent Self-Image. Princeton University Press. The Portuguese wording is this site's own translation, written from the original, and has not been psychometrically validated.

Scoring (the university's official one): each item is worth 1 to 4 points, and the sum runs from 10 to 40. Five items are positive (1, 2, 4, 6 and 7) and five are reverse-worded (3, 5, 8, 9 and 10, the ones that say "I am a failure", "I do not have much to be proud of", "I wish I had more respect for myself", "I feel useless" and "I am no good at all"). On reversed items, strongly agreeing is worth 1 point and strongly disagreeing is worth 4, and the quiz engine already does this inversion for you. A higher result indicates a more positive evaluation of oneself. The scale was originally designed as a Guttman scale and is now generally used summed as a Likert scale.

There are no official cutoffs: the department itself states that there are no discrete cutoffs to separate high and low self-esteem and advises consulting norms from the literature for each population. The five ranges in this quiz are didactic and come from the scale's arithmetic (an average of 2.5 per item, a total of 25, is the neutral point), not from population norms. The reference Brazilian adaptation is by Hutz (2000), revised by Hutz and Zanon (2011), "Revisão da adaptação, validação e normatização da escala de autoestima de Rosenberg", Avaliação Psicológica, 10(1), 41-49; there is also one by Dini, Quaresma and Ferreira (2004), Revista Brasileira de Cirurgia Plástica, 19. For research, use the validated version. This quiz is not a diagnosis: low self-esteem is not depression or any other condition, and, if the distress lasts for weeks, talk to a psychologist or doctor (in Brazil, CVV answers at 188, 24 hours, free).

Sample questions

  • I feel that I'm a person of worth, at least on an equal plane with others.
  • All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure.
  • On the whole, I am satisfied with myself.
  • I certainly feel useless at times.

All possible results

Self-Image Running Low

Almost every answer leans toward doubt about yourself

Your answers lean strongly to the negative side: you agreed with several harsh statements about yourself and disagreed with several statements of self-worth. On average, each item landed below the scale's neutral point. This describes how you evaluate yourself today, not what you are worth. Very low self-esteem often travels with periods of stress, loss, constant pressure or an environment where mistakes are punished, and it changes with time and context. The first useful step is rarely "thinking positive": it is turning down the volume of the inner critic, taking care of the basics (sleep, food, people) and, if the weight persists, talking to a professional who can support you.

What to do with this result

More Doubt Than Confidence

You see some good in yourself, but the critic is louder

Your result sits a little below the center of the scale. You recognize some qualities and perhaps do well in areas that matter, but when you look at yourself as a whole, doubt weighs more than pride. It is a very common pattern in times of transition (a new school, job or city, the end of a relationship) and in people who demand a lot of themselves. The good news is that this range responds well to small, steady changes: adjusting the ruler you measure yourself with, recording what goes right and surrounding yourself with people who see you fairly. Also notice in which context the doubt grows: sometimes it is tied to an environment, not to you.

What to do with this result

Between Doubt and Confidence

A mixed picture, with clear room to grow

Your answers split almost down the middle: you agree with a good share of the self-worth statements and also with some of the self-critical ones. This is far more common than it seems, and it does not signal a lack of character or maturity. Many people's self-esteem swings with the day, recent performance and surroundings, and this range shows exactly that swing. What is worth observing is what pushes it up (achievements, people, rest) and down (recent mistakes, comparison, pressure). People who know these triggers can act on them with small plans, without having to change personality or convince themselves they are perfect.

What to do with this result

Solid Self-Esteem

You generally evaluate yourself with respect and realism

Your answers lean toward the positive side: you agree with the self-worth statements, disagree with the harsher ones and, overall, see yourself with respect. This often goes along with handling criticism better, trying new things without paralyzing fear of failing and bouncing back from stumbles more quickly. Solid self-esteem is not the absence of doubt; it is being able to doubt without falling apart. The care now is to maintain the base that holds it up, such as relationships, habits and purpose, and to watch for the periods when it tends to drop, because almost everyone swings in times of loss, heavy pressure or isolation. People with this picture can also help others see themselves better.

What to do with this result

Very High Self-Esteem

Almost every answer leans toward self-worth

You strongly agreed with almost all of the self-worth statements and disagreed with the self-critical ones: your picture is of a person who respects and accepts themselves. That is a valuable resource for relationships, study and work. Two honest observations help you make the most of it. First, the Rosenberg scale measures how well you evaluate yourself, not whether that evaluation matches how other people or the facts see you, so it is worth staying open to feedback. Second, a result on a single day can be influenced by mood and by how you want to come across; retaking it on another occasion gives a more reliable sense of your underlying tendency.

What to do with this result

Frequently asked questions

Yes. The University of Maryland Department of Sociology declares the scale to be in the public domain: use without charge and without notice, including for translations and adaptations, with traditional scholarly attribution (cite Rosenberg, 1965). That applies to the English wording; Portuguese versions published by other authors carry their own attribution.

Where to go next

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