Culture free or culture fair? A pilot study on Self-esteem Inventory among Iraninan children

With the aim of standardising the Culture Free Self Esteem Inventory (CFSEI - Form A) a study in two phases _ the pilot and a final _ was conducted in Iran. In the pilot study 199 children (age 6-13 years) were examined. The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory was used for measuring concurrent validity of CFSEI. Moreover, in the pilot study, reliability over time for the Scale was measured. The results showed acceptable reliability and validity of the Scale among Iranian children. Some items of the Inventory were modified or revised based on the Characteristics of Iranian culture. According to the results of factor analysis, which was carried out in the final study among 1300 children, this Scale can measure factors of self esteem among the Iranian population although it is not able to measure them in the Canadian population. Considering findings of the study and the modifications made to CFSEI, this inventory is culture fair rather than culture free.