Self-Esteem among College Students from Four Arab Countries

• Published in: Psychological reports 2012-02, Vol.110 (1), p.297-303
• Main Authors: Abdel-Khalek, Ahmed M., Korayem, Adel Shokry, El-Nayal, Mayssah A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Analysis of Variance; Female; Humans; Income; Male; Middle East; Peer Group; Self Concept; Sex Distribution; Socioeconomic Factors; Students - psychology; Students - statistics & numerical data; Surveys and Questionnaires; Unemployment - psychology; Unemployment - statistics & numerical data; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0033-2941; 1558-691X
• DOI: 10.2466/07.09.17.PR0.110.1.297-303

This study had three objectives: (a) to compare undergraduates from four Arab countries on self-esteem, (b) to explore the sex-related differences in self-esteem in these four Arab countries, and (c) to examine the association of self-esteem with both per-capita income and unemployment rate. Four samples of 2,643 students were recruited from Egypt (n = 576), Kuwait (n = 674), Lebanon (n = 826), and Oman (n = 567). They responded to the Arabic version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Kuwaiti and Omani men had a significantly higher mean score on self-esteem than did Egyptian and Lebanese men. Egyptian women scored significantly lower than the Omani women, but the effect size was small. Regarding the sex-related differences in self-esteem, Kuwaiti men had a significantly higher mean score than did their female peers, but the effect size was small, whereas there were no significant sex differences in the other samples. The sex-related difference in self-esteem is a controversial result and it may not be replicable in different countries. It was suggested that self-esteem is associated with high per-capita income and low unemployment rate.