The Role of Self-Perceived Usefulness and Competence in the Self-Esteem of Elderly Adults: Confirmatory Factor Analyses of the Bachman Revision of Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale

Abstract

This article reports on a confirmatory analytic study of the Bachman Revision (1970) of Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (1965) that was used in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ALSA). Participants comprised 1,087 elderly people aged between 70 and 103 years (mean 77 years). Five competing factor models were tested with LISREL8. The best-fitting model was a nested one, with a General Self-Esteem second-order factor and two first-order factors, Positive Self-regard and Usefulness/Competence. This model was validated with data from a later wave of ALSA. Usefulness and competence have received little attention in the gerontological literature to date. Preliminary results indicate that usefulness/competence may be an important predictor of well-being. Further work is required on the relationships among usefulness, competence, self-esteem, and well-being in elderly people.

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“…Altruistic orientations are likely to serve as motivational antecedents of helping others and volunteering (Garfein & Herzog, 1995;Midlarsky & Kahana, 1994). Selfesteem in older adults has also been associated with competence in adaptation to stress in late life (Ranzijn, Keeves, Luszcz, & Feather, 1998).…”

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“…An important threat to such care was the fact that the hospital system gave more priority to measurable activities than to less quantifiable care. Worthiness as a core value of health is further supported by psychological research (Ranzijn, Keeves, Luszcz & Feather, 1998). This research shows that an individual treated as a person of value has a higher sense of self-esteem, copes better with health challenges, and is more independent than a patient who feels worthless.…”

A health economic model for the development and evaluation of innovations in aged care: an application to consumer-directed care—study protocol

“…The scale comprises 10 items with a Likert scale response ranging from almost always true to never true. The instrument has been widely applied by Professor Luszcz in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing and other populations of older people 23 24

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