A Latent State-Trait analysis of global self-esteem: A reconsideration of its state-like component in an organizational setting

In this study, we addressed the relevance of the state-trait variance decomposition of global self-esteem (GSE) in organizational research. We used a longitudinal sample of 393 military cadets followed for 2 years (nT2 = 376) and adopted Latent Curve—Latent State-Trait models for separating stable and transient factors in GSE and in three work-related variables (e.g., work engagement, affective commitment, in-role/extra-role performance). Although literature often considered GSE a trait-like variable, our results showed that it has a significant state variance that positively covaried with the state components of all three work-related variables included in our study. Thus, we suggest rejecting the rigid separation between “state-constructs” and “trait-constructs”, and recommend a paradigm that focuses on the trait and state components of each psychological construct.