Contingencies of Self-Worth (CSW) Scale

Background

Our measure focuses on seven domains hypothesized to be important internal and external sources of self-esteem in previous research and theory: others' approval, physical appearance, outdoing others in competition, academic competence, family love and support, being a virtuous or moral person, and God's love. Our research indicates that the measure is reliable and valid (Crocker, Luhtanen, Cooper, & Bouvrette, 2003). Although research using this measure is still in its early stages, the research we have conducted to date points to some conclusions.

Our studies suggest that contingent self-worth is domain-specific. In contrast to researchers who emphasize between-person differences in whether self-esteem is contingent or noncontingent (e.g., Kernis, in press; Deci & Ryan, 1995), our research suggests that the domain(s) on which self-worth is staked are more important than whether self-worth is, overall, contingent or not. In support of this conclusion, confirmatory factor analyses revealed that a seven-factor model, rather than a one-factor model of contingent self-worth, provided a good fit to the data. Correlations among the contingencies of self-worth suggest that they fall on a continuum from internal to external. Correlations with other measures, such as neuroticism, self-esteem, and narcissism, differ by subscale, with more external contingencies related negatively to well-being and internal contingencies unrelated or even positively related to well-being. Finally, the subscales of the CSW scale predict different behaviors. For example, the academic contingency predicts the number of hours students report studying each week, whereas the appearance contingency predicts the number of hours they report exercising, shopping for clothes, and grooming.

These results have important implications for the use of the CSW scale. First, instead of summing scores across the various subscales, we recommend including specific subscales of theoretical interest in research and data analysis, because collapsing across domains could, for example, obscure the effects of having self-worth based on external versus internal contingencies. Second, in order to identify the unique effects of a particular contingency of self-worth, researchers should enter all contingencies into their analyses simultaneously.

Our research also suggests that contingencies of self-worth have self-regulatory consequences. Because it feels good to conclude that one is worthy, and feels bad to conclude that one is worthless, people are especially motivated to achieve success and avoid failure in domains on which self-worth is staked. Consistent with this view, we found that contingencies of self-worth predicted how college students spent their time in their freshman year, as well as changes in activities from the first semester to the second semester. However, contingent self-worth is also likely to be associated with nonautonomous, controlled motivation, which is related to feelings of pressure, stress, and decreased well-being (Deci & Ryan, 1995; 2001). [BACK TO INDEX]

Limitations

We do not claim that the CSW measures all contingencies of self-worth on which college students base their self-esteem. Other contingencies, such as basing self-esteem on one's social identity (e.g., Tajfel & Turner, 1986), or on power (Coopersmith, 1967), have been identified in the literature. Researchers with a theoretical interest in other contingencies of self-worth may wish to develop measures of them. For example, we have recently developed and are validating a measure of basing self-esteem on being a good environmentalist (Brook & Crocker, 2003). Also, older adults may stake their self-esteem on different domains such as physical health, being a parent, or cognitive abilities. One goal of current research in the Contingencies of Self-Worth Laboratory is development of a measure of contingencies of self-worth across the life span. [BACK TO INDEX]

Validity

Because the measure relies on self-report, the CSW scale is subject to social desirability and other self-presentational concerns. However, correlations with social desirability are small, suggesting that this is not a major concern. We have examined whether social desirability can account for the observed relationships of contingencies of self-worth with outcomes such as stress (Crocker & Luhtanen, 2003) or alcohol use (Luhtanen & Crocker, in press); it does not.

Evidence for the validity of the CSW scale would be strengthened by data showing that the effect of events in a domain on self-esteem depends on the degree to which self-esteem is contingent on that domain. Our initial efforts to address this issue have focused on the Academic CSW. For example, first semester grades (GPA) interact with the Academic CSW to predict global self-esteem. At low Academic CSW, GPA is unrelated to self-esteem, whereas at high Academic CSW, GPA is related to self-esteem, as predicted (Crocker, Sommers, & Luhtanen, 2002).

Several recent investigations provide strong evidence for the validity of the contingencies of self-worth scale. For example, we have found that the academic CSW predicts a) the magnitude of increases and decreases in college seniors' self-esteem in response to acceptances and rejections from graduate schools (Crocker et al., 2002), b) decreases in self-esteem in response to unexpectedly bad grades (Crocker et al., 2003), and c) the experience of academic stress (e.g., time pressure, conflicts with professors) in the freshman year of college (Crocker & Luhtanen, 2003).

Experimental research also suggests that contingencies of self-worth affect behavior. In an experiment, students who were high or low on the academic contingency either failed a GRE test or were in a no-failure control condition. Participants then interacted with another person (the perceiver), who was blind to experimental condition and told about a personal problem. Perceivers rated the highly contingent, high self-esteem participants in the failure condition as more preoccupied, less likeable, less desirable for future interactions, and less appealing to tell a problem to in the future than did perceivers who interacted with low contingent failure participants or high contingent participants in the control condition (Park & Crocker, 2003). In other words, the academic contingency of self-worth in interaction with threat to that contingency and level of self-esteem affected participants' behavior strongly enough to alter how likeable they were to another student. [BACK TO INDEX]

Scoring Instructions

Item with * is reverse-scored such that 7=1, 6=2, 5=3, 4=4, 3=5, 2=6, 1=7.

FAMILYSUPPORT : items 7, 10*, 16, 24, and 29.

COMPETITION : items 3, 12, 20, 25, and 32.

APPEARANCE: items 1, 4*, 17, 21, and 30*.

GOD’S LOVE: items 2, 8, 18, 26, and 31.

ACADEMIC COMPETENCE : items 13*, 19, 22, 27, and 33.

VIRTUE: items 5, 11, 14, 28, and 34.

APPROVAL FROM OTHERS: items: 6*, 9, 15*, 23*, and 35.

To compute scoring,

• First, reverse-score answers to items 4, 6, 10, 13, 15, 23, and 30, such that (1 = 7), (2 = 6), (3 = 5), (4 = 4), (5 = 3), (6 = 2), (7 = 1).
• Then sum the answers to the five items for each respective subscale score, and divide each by 5.

Download

The scale and its coding instructions are here to download in PDF and Word formats:

(Right click or control click on link & choose "Save As")

Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale (CSW) - Adobe PDF
Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale (CSW) - Microsoft Word

Information on the Japanese Version of the CSW Scale

Dr. Yukiko Uchida has developed a Japanese version of the CSW that includes a "relationship harmony" scale that is not included in the English version. She is currently working on a manuscript reporting the scale. She also has a shorter version of the scale that excludes items with low factor scores. Downloads of the two versions of the scale are available below. Please contact Dr. Uchida if you have questions about the development of the Japanese CSW:

Yukiko Uchida
Koshien University
10-1 Momijigaoka, Takarazuka, Hyogo
665-0006, Japan
Tel: +81-797-87-8381
yuchida@koshien.ac.jp
http://www.koshien.ac.jp/staff/~yuchida/index.htm

Download the Japanese Version of the CSW Scale

Contact Yukiko Uchida for details about the development of the Japanese CSW.

(Right click or control click on link & choose "Save As")
Japanese Version of Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale (CSW) - PDF
Japanese Version of Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale (CSW) - Word

SHORTER (low factor items removed) Japanese Version of CSW - PDF
SHORTER (low factor items removed) Japanese Version of CSW - Word

Download the Spanish Version of the CSW Scale

Contact Gemma Garcia-Soriano for details about the development of the Spanish CSW.

(Right click or control click on link & choose "Save As")
Spanish Version of Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale (CSW) - PDF
Spanish Version of Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale (CSW) - Word

Information on the German Version of the CSW Scale

Astrid Schuetz has translated the CSW scale into German and has analyzed the psychometric properties of the scale. Please contact her for more information.

Information on the Dutch Version of the CSW Scale

Roos Vonk translated the CSW scale into Dutch.  She reduced the number of items, grouping them into 3 global domains:

Social Approval (Family & Others), α = .81, 5 items;
Appearance, α = .79, 5 items; and
Performance (Competition & Academics), α = .87, 5 items (T12).

More information can be obtained from Roos Vonk.

Download the French Version of CSW Scale

Contact Julie Jaccod Aulard for information the development of the French CSW scales for adults and children.

(Right click or control click on link & choose "Save As")
French Version of Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale (CSW) for Children - Word
French Version of Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale (CSW) for Adults - Word

Download the Turkish Version of CSW Scale

Contact Yuksel Eroglu for information the development of the Turkish CSW scales.

(Right click or control click on link & choose "Save As")
Turkish Version of Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale (CSW) - Word
Information on the Turkish Version of Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale (CSW) - PDF

Download the Persian Version of the CSW Scale

Contact Milad SabzehAra for information on the development of the Persian CSW Scales

(Right click or control click on link & choose "Save As")

Persian Version of Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale (CSW)- Word

Persian Version of Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale (CSW)- PDF

 

Citation

Crocker, J., Luhtanen, R. K., Cooper, M. L., & Bouvrette, A. (2003). Contingencies of self-worth in college students: Theory and measurement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 894-908.

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