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Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale
10 statements for assessing overall self-esteem. One of the most popular tools in psychology.
10 questions · about 3 minutes · free, no sign-up
Your result
A questionnaire cannot diagnose anything. It shows how much something has been bothering you lately, and that is a starting point for a conversation — with a professional, or with someone you trust.
If you are thinking about harming yourself, please do not wait: call your local emergency number, or find a helpline for your country at findahelpline.com.
How the score is read
Add up your answers: the total runs from 10 to 40.
| Score | Level |
|---|---|
| 10–24 | Low self-esteem |
| 25–35 | Self-esteem within normal range |
| 36–40 | High self-esteem |
A score is a number. What does it mean for you?
In Luther the same questionnaire comes with a personal reading: what your answers point to, what has changed since last time, and what is worth trying next. Your first day is free, with no card.
About this questionnaire
Source: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale — Rosenberg, M. (1965). Public domain; used with attribution, as the Rosenberg family asks. Read the original publication →
Who developed it
The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was written by the sociologist Morris Rosenberg of the University of Maryland and published in 1965 in his book Society and the Adolescent Self-Image, based on a study of 5,024 high-school students in New York State. It has since become the most widely used measure of global self-esteem in psychology, translated into dozens of languages. Ten statements are rated from strongly disagree to strongly agree; five of them are phrased negatively and scored in reverse. The scale is in the public domain; the Rosenberg family asks only that it be cited.
How it is used
Each statement scores from 1 to 4, so the total runs from 10 to 40. Some versions score 0 to 3, giving 0 to 30; add 10 to compare. There is no clinical cut-off, because self-esteem is not a disorder: the bands used here, under 25 low, 25 to 35 within the normal range, above 35 high, are conventions from research. The scale is used in studies of well-being, in schools and in counselling to see how a person's view of themselves changes over months, and low scores are known to go together with depression, anxiety and social withdrawal.
What it does not measure
The scale measures a general attitude towards yourself, not a symptom and not a mood. It has no time window: it asks how you see yourself in general, so a low score after a bad week may be the week talking. It does not tell stable low self-esteem from a temporary dip, does not say where the view came from, and was normed on American teenagers, so cultures that value modesty tend to score lower without any difference in well-being. A low score is a description, not a condition.
What to do with your result
A score in the normal range says nothing needs fixing. Below 25, the most useful thing is to look at the statements you disagreed with and ask where that judgment comes from and whether you would apply it to a friend: this is the core of what cognitive techniques do with self-critical thinking, and a thought record is a good place to start. Retake the scale in a month rather than in a week. If low self-worth comes with low mood, withdrawal or thoughts that others would be better off without you, take the PHQ-8 as well and talk to a professional.
Frequently asked questions
What is a normal score on the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale?
On the 10-to-40 scoring used here, 25 to 35 is the usual range and the average in most adult samples falls in the low thirties. Below 25 suggests low self-esteem, above 35 high. On the 0-to-30 scoring the same bands are 15 to 25 normal and under 15 low.
Why are some of the Rosenberg statements reversed?
Five statements are worded negatively, for instance that you feel you do not have much to be proud of, so that agreeing is not always the high-self-esteem answer. It stops people ticking the same column all the way down. Those items are scored in reverse before the total is added up; on this page that is done for you.
Is low self-esteem a mental illness?
No. It is not a diagnosis in any classification. It is, though, a risk factor: low self-esteem makes depression and anxiety more likely and often accompanies them, and it responds to the same approaches, above all cognitive work on self-critical thoughts.
Should the Rosenberg scale be scored 0 to 30 or 10 to 40?
Both are in use and measure the same thing. Rosenberg's original used a Guttman scoring; most researchers today score each item 0 to 3 or 1 to 4. This page uses 1 to 4, so totals run from 10 to 40; subtract 10 to compare with a 0-to-30 result.
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10 questions for assessing psychological distress over the past 4 weeks.
PTSD Symptom Screening (PCL-5)
20 questions for assessing the severity of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms over the past month.
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Luther is an AI companion for everyday support. It is not therapy, not medical care and not a diagnosis. If you are thinking about harming yourself, please do not wait: call your local emergency number, or find a helpline for your country at findahelpline.com.