State self-esteem scale

The state self-esteem scale (SSES) is a 20-item questionnaire that measures how a person feels about themselves right now. Heatherton and Polivy published it in 1991. Respondents rate each item from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely) across three domains, covering performance, social, and appearance. Thirteen items are reverse-scored first, and the three subscale totals add up to a score between 20 and 100. Higher scores mean higher state self-esteem.

Unlike the Rosenberg scale and other trait measures, the SSES tracks change from one session to the next. That makes it useful for pre- and post-intervention tracking, experimental designs, and brief wellbeing screening in mental health practices. You can download the full questionnaire, with its reverse-scoring key, from the box below.

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Key takeaways

The state self-esteem scale (SSES) is a 20-item questionnaire measuring momentary self-esteem across performance, social, and appearance domains.

The SSES uses a 5-point scale, from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely). Thirteen of the 20 items are reverse-scored before you total the subscales.

All seven social items are reverse-scored, so a hand-scored social total is wrong unless every one of them is flipped.

Total scores run from 20 to 100, and higher means higher state self-esteem. Heatherton and Polivy published no clinical cut-offs, so compare a score with the same patient’s earlier scores.

Pabau’s digital forms let practitioners send validated scales to patients and keep every score in the client record.

What is the state self-esteem scale (SSES)?

Heatherton and Polivy developed the SSES in 1991 and published it in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. It is a 20-item self-report measure of momentary self-esteem. The three domains it covers are performance (ability and competence), social (interaction and acceptance), and appearance (physical attractiveness and body image).

Trait self-esteem is stable over time. State self-esteem moves with situational feedback, performance outcomes, or appearance concerns. The SSES picks up those short-term shifts, which is what makes it sensitive to therapy, situational stressors, and experimental manipulations.

SSES scale items: All 20 questions

Respondents rate each item on a 5-point scale, where 1 is not at all and 5 is extremely. Thirteen items are reverse-scored: 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. Flip those responses before you sum anything, so a 1 becomes a 5 and a 2 becomes a 4. Below is the complete 20-item list, in the published order.

1. I feel confident about my abilities.
2. I am worried about whether I am regarded as a success or failure.
3. I feel satisfied with the way my body looks right now.
4. I feel frustrated or rattled about my performance.
5. I feel that I am having trouble understanding things that I read.
6. I feel that others respect and admire me.
7. I am dissatisfied with my weight.
8. I feel self-conscious.
9. I feel as smart as others.
10. I feel displeased with myself.
11. I feel good about myself.
12. I am pleased with my appearance right now.
13. I am worried about what other people think of me.
14. I feel confident that I understand things.
15. I feel inferior to others at this moment.
16. I feel unattractive.
17. I feel concerned about the impression I am making.
18. I feel that I have less scholastic ability right now than others.
19. I feel like I’m not doing well.
20. I am worried about looking foolish.

Three subscales of the SSES

The scale divides into three subscales, each measuring a different facet of momentary self-worth:

Two of those placements read oddly at first. Item 6 (“I feel that others respect and admire me”) sits under appearance rather than social. So does item 11 (“I feel good about myself”). Keep the published grouping so your totals stay comparable with the wider literature.

How to score the state self-esteem scale

Scoring takes five steps. The map below shows which items belong to each subscale and which 13 of them get flipped before you add anything up.

1. Reverse-score the designated items: Items 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. Convert 1 to 5, 2 to 4, 4 to 2, and 5 to 1, leaving 3 as it is.
2. Sum the performance subscale: Add items 1, 4, 5, 9, 14, 18, and 19 (range 7-35).
3. Sum the social subscale: Add items 2, 8, 10, 13, 15, 17, and 20 (range 7-35).
4. Sum the appearance subscale: Add items 3, 6, 7, 11, 12, and 16 (range 6-30).
5. Calculate the total score: Add all three subscale totals (range 20-100).

Interpretation: Higher scores indicate higher state self-esteem, on the total and on each subscale. Heatherton and Polivy published no clinical cut-offs, so read a score against the same patient’s earlier scores rather than a threshold. Recording responses on a digital intake form keeps the raw answers on file, so you can re-check a total later instead of re-administering the scale.

Psychometric properties: Reliability and validity

The SSES has strong psychometric support in the peer-reviewed literature. Heatherton and Polivy’s 1991 validation study reported Cronbach’s alpha values of .86 to .92 across the subscales, which indicates high internal consistency. The scale has since been used with college student, clinical, and international samples, and it responds to both experimental manipulation and therapeutic change.

Construct validity rests on correlations with behavioral outcomes such as task performance and sensitivity to social feedback. Test-retest reliability depends on the interval you choose. Same-session retesting is highly stable, while one-week intervals show the state-level movement the scale was built to detect.

SSES vs the Rosenberg scale

The Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSES) is a 10-item trait measure of stable, global self-esteem. The two instruments answer different questions, so the choice follows your assessment goal. If you need a baseline rather than session-to-session movement, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale is the better starting point.

The SSES-6 short form

A validated 6-item short form exists for time-constrained settings. Webster, Howell, and Shepperd published the SSES-6 in 2022. It keeps the three-subscale structure with two items per subscale, and it takes under a minute to complete instead of roughly three. That suits session check-ins and brief wellbeing screening in busy therapy practices.

When to administer it

The SSES fits several clinical and research contexts:

• Pre- and post-therapy sessions: Measure momentary shifts in self-esteem after cognitive-behavioral, acceptance-based, or interpersonal skill-building work.
• Social anxiety assessment: Track state-level movement in the social and appearance subscales to guide exposure hierarchies and confirm progress.
• Mood and depression tracking: Monitor moment-to-moment self-worth as a proximal indicator of depressive symptoms or treatment response.
• Eating disorder assessment: Assess appearance-specific self-esteem before and after body-image focused interventions.
• Experimental psychology: Measure self-esteem in response to laboratory stressors, performance feedback, or social exclusion paradigms.
• Brief wellness screening: Use the SSES-6 short form at intake or as a session check-in to spot state-level distress.

References

Heatherton, T. F., & Polivy, J. (1991). Development and validation of a scale for measuring state self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(6), 895-910. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.60.6.895

Webster, G. D., Howell, J. L., & Shepperd, J. A. (2022). Self-esteem in 60 seconds: The six-item State Self-Esteem Scale (SSES-6). Assessment, 29(2), 152-168. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191120958059

How Pabau supports self-esteem assessment in practice

Scoring the SSES on paper costs a clinician twice. Someone flips 13 responses by hand, totals three subscales, then types the numbers into the note. Each of those steps is a chance to transpose a digit.

Practice management software like Pabau shortens that path. Send the 20 items to the patient as a digital form before the session, and their answers flow into their digital clinical records. The result sits with the note instead of in a folder behind reception.

Because each administration is stored against the same patient, you can read the trend rather than hunt for last month’s paper copy. That turns the SSES into an outcome measure you can chart across a whole episode of care.

See how Pabau handles scored assessments

Send validated scales as digital forms, keep every score against the client record, and follow a patient’s progress across their whole episode of care.

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Conclusion

The SSES rewards care in one place, and that is the reverse-scoring. Flip the 13 designated items, total the three subscales, and your number is comparable with the published literature. Miss the flip on the social items and that subscale reads backwards.

Because the scale carries no published cut-offs, one administration tells you far less than two. Run it at the start of an episode of care, then again after the intervention. The change between them is what you interpret.

Print the template above for paper administration. You can also build the same 20 items into your digital intake forms, so the flip is never skipped at the desk. Book a demo to see how scored assessments sit inside a patient record.

Continue your research

Need the trait counterpart? Rosenberg self-esteem scale template gives you the 10-item baseline to pair with session-by-session SSES scores.

Looking for between-session work? Self-esteem worksheet for adults turns a low subscale score into structured homework a client can take away.

Tracking the appearance domain? Body appreciation scale goes deeper on body image than the six appearance items in the SSES.

Need to document the result? Progress notes for psychotherapy shows where a scored assessment belongs in the session note.

Frequently asked questions