Sex differences were examined on the Multidimensional Self-Esteem Inventory which measures global self-esteem, specific components of self-esteem, defensiveness, and identity integration. Significant sex differences were obtained on 10 of the 11 scales with the direction of the differences generally consistent with sex-role stereotypes (298 men scoring higher in global self-esteem, competence, body-image; 487 women scoring higher in lovability and likability). However, the magnitudes of the sex differences were quite small, with sex accounting for 1 to 7% of the total variance in scale scores.
