EVALUATION OF A MEASURE OF SELF-ESTEEM BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF UNCONDITIONAL SELF-REGARD

A measure of unconditional self-regard (USR) derived from Rogerian (cl ient-centered) theory was evaluated in four studies. Results indicated that USR was highly reliable and was strongly related to other measur es of self-esteem and negatively related to depression, anxiety, and s ymptoms of psychological distress. The measure was significantly relat ed to the control and commitment dimensions of psychological hardiness but not to its challenge dimension. Evidence for discriminant validit y was provided by findings that USR was unrelated to social desirabili ty or private self-consciousness. Finally female students' self-regard was significantly related to the unconditional positive regard they r eported receiving from their mothers. Other correlations between self- regard and perceived regard from others, although nonsignificant, were often large in absolute value. Implications for counseling interventi ons are discussed.