Issues of validity and reliability in the use of real-ideal discrepancy scores to measure self-regard

Investigated the validity and reliability of real-ideal discrepancy scores as measures of self-regard using 1,965 7th, 9th, and 11th graders. Real self-ratings were superior to real-ideal discrepancy ratings in predicting several measures of global self-esteem (e.g., Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory) and in predicting several measures of teachers' evaluations of the self-attitudes of the Ss. Further, similar-sized discrepancies did not translate into similar levels of self-regard at different points on scales of real self-evaluation, and the more dependent the discrepancy score was made on the real self-score relative to the ideal self-score, the more effective a predictor it was of global self-esteem. Finally, the test-retest correlations were low for a real-ideal discrepancy scale. Researchers are cautioned against the use of such measures. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).