Church‐Based Social Relationships and Change in Self‐Esteem Over Time

This study has two goals. The first goal is to see if church‐based social relationships are associated with change in self‐esteem. Emotional support from fellow church members and having a close personal relationship with God serve as measures of church‐based social ties. The second goal is to see whether emotional support from fellow church members is more strongly associated with self‐esteem than emotional support from secular social network members. The data come from an ongoing nationwide survey of older adults. The findings reveal that having a close personal relationship with God is associated with a stronger sense of self‐esteem at the baseline and follow‐up interviews. In contrast, emotional support from fellow church members was not associated with self‐esteem at either point in time. However, emotional support from secular social network members is related to self‐esteem at the baseline but not the follow‐up interview.     

The association between stress,self‐esteem and depressive symptoms in adolescents

This cross‐sectional study investigated gender and age differences on domains of stress, self‐esteem and depressive symptoms, as well as the association between those domains using a sample of Norwegian adolescents (N = 1,239). The data was analysed using Pearson product moment correlation, t‐tests, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. The results showed significant differences between genders. Girls scored higher on five of seven stressor domains comprising peer pressure, home life, school attendance, school/leisure conflict and school performance as well as depression, while boys scored significantly higher on self‐esteem. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that higher stress from school performance and school attendance related significantly to more depressive symptoms in both genders. Additionally, stress of home life significantly related to more depressive symptoms in girls, whereas stress of peer pressure was significant in association with depressive symptoms in boys. A strong, inverse association was found between self‐esteem and depression controlled for stress, especially in girls. Self‐esteem was not found to be a moderator of any stressor‐depression interactions. In conclusion, the results give support for the significant role of stress and self‐esteem on the experience of depressive symptoms in adolescents.     

Peer relationships and adolescents’ academic and non‐academic outcomes: Same‐sex and opposite‐sex peer effects and the mediating role of school engagement

Background. The literature has documented theoretical/conceptual models delineating the facilitating role of peer relationships in academic and non‐academic outcomes. However, the mechanisms through which peer relationships link to those outcomes is an area requiring further research. Aims. The study examined the role of adolescents’ perceptions of their relationships with same‐sex and opposite‐sex peers in predicting their academic performance and general self‐esteem and the potentially mediating role of school engagement in linking these perceived peer relationships with academic and non‐academic outcomes. Sample. The sample comprised 1,436 high‐school students (670 boys, 756 girls; 711 early adolescents, 723 later adolescents). Method. Self‐report measures and objective achievement tests were used. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was performed to test the hypothesized model and its invariance across gender and age groups. Results. Perceived same‐sex peer relationships yielded positive direct and indirect links with academic performance and general self‐esteem. Perceived opposite‐sex peer relationships yielded positive direct and indirect links with general self‐esteem and an indirect positive link with academic performance, but mediation via school engagement was not as strong as that of perceived same‐sex peer relationships. These findings generalized across gender and age groups. Conclusion. Adolescents’ same‐sex and opposite‐sex peer relationships seem to positively impact their academic performance and general self‐esteem in distinct ways. It appears that school engagement plays an important role in mediating these peer relationship effects, particularly those of same‐sex peer relationships, on academic and non‐academic functioning. Implications for psycho‐educational theory, measurement, and practice are discussed.     

Peer victimization and self‐esteem of ethnic minority group children

An experimental study was carried out among Turkish children (10 to 12 years) living in the Netherlands for examining the relationship between peer victimization and self‐esteem. Related to the social psychological distinction between personal and social identity, a distinction was made between personal and ethnic self‐esteem and between personal and ethnic victimization. It was found that personal self‐esteem negatively predicted personal victimization but not ethnic victimization, and ethnic self‐esteem tended to predict ethnic victimization but not personal victimization. Furthermore, peer victimization had a negative causal effect on momentary self‐feelings independent of the level of self‐esteem. In addition, peer victimization based on ethnic group membership had a somewhat stronger negative effect on self‐feelings than victimization based on personal characteristics. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting self‐esteem during unemployment: The effect of gender,financial deprivation,alternate roles,and social support

Two hundred and one unemployed men and women participated in a cross‐sectional study that assessed self‐esteem, financial deprivation, number of alternate roles, and use of social support. Financial deprivation, alternate roles, and social support each had a main effect on self‐esteem. In addition, these variables interacted with gender to affect self‐esteem. Specifically, financial deprivation had a greater negative association with self‐esteem in men as compared with women. In contrast, alternate roles and social support had a stronger positive relationship to self‐esteem in women than in men. The incorporation of these findings into intervention programs for unemployed persons is discussed.     

Hispanics' Self‐Esteem,Acculturation, and Skepticism of Women's Work1

This study investigated the relationships among Hispanics' self‐esteem, acculturation, and skepticism of women's employment. Using a sample of Hispanic students, mediated regression analysis was initiated to determine whether acculturation mediated a proposed negative relationship between self‐esteem and traditional gender attitudes. The results indicated that self‐esteem and acculturation were positively related; self‐esteem and employment skepticism were negatively related; and self‐esteem was unrelated to employment skepticism in the presence of acculturation, which supported full mediation. Organizations should consider using a combination of diversity training, employee assistance programs, career counseling, and job‐enrichment policies to facilitate Hispanics' self‐esteem and acculturation, and these efforts might lead ultimately to greater acceptance of women's employment.     

Self‐esteem and values

The purpose of the present study was to connect personal values to self‐esteem in 14 samples (N = 3612) of pre‐professionals, high school students, and adults, from Finland, Russia, Switzerland, Italy, and Estonia. Self‐enhancement values (power, achievement) and openness to change values (self‐direction, stimulation) were positively, and self‐transcendence values (universalism, benevolence) and conservation values (tradition) were negatively related to self‐esteem. These direct relations between values and self‐esteem were only partly consistent with predictions derived from Maslow's theory of growth and deficiency needs. In samples of pre‐professionals, self‐esteem was correlated with congruence between personal values and the prevailing values environment. On the group‐level, endorsement of achievement and universalism values was more strongly and positively related to self‐esteem in samples where these values were considered more important. In contrast, endorsement of self‐direction and hedonism values was more strongly and positively related to self‐esteem in samples where these values were considered less important. These group‐level results are interpreted as suggesting that attainment of culturally significant goals may raise self‐esteem, but that high self‐esteem may be required for the pursuit of less socially desirable goals. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spirituality Among College Freshmen: Relationships to Self‐Esteem,Body Image,and Stress

The authors investigated the relationships between spirituality, body image, self‐esteem, and stress in 204 college freshmen who identified themselves as being highly spiritual. A positive relationship was found between spirituality and self‐esteem. Although self‐esteem was found to be negatively related to stress, spirituality served as a buffer in this relationship. When gender of participants was examined, men and women did not differ in spirituality. Greater spirituality was related to lower body surveillance, an aspect of body image, for men, but it was not related to body image for women. Overall, however, women experienced greater body image dissatisfaction than did men.     

The correlates of psychological health among the Turkish unemployed: Psychological burden of financial help during unemployment

The purpose of this study is to examine the major determinants of psychological health during unemployment. With this in mind, 438 (17% female and 83% male) unemployed individuals were contacted through Turkey's State Employment Office. It was expected that the relationship between duration of unemployment and psychological wellbeing would be nonlinear. Additionally it was hypothesized that perceived social support would moderate the relationship between length of unemployment and psychological health. Further, we suggested that self‐esteem would be related to psychological health and moderate the relationship between length of unemployment and psychological health. The results supported the curvilinearity hypothesis of the relationship between unemployment duration and psychological health as measured by General Health Questionnaire. However, social support was not found to moderate the relationship between unemployment duration and psychological health. The hypothesis that self‐esteem would moderate the relationship between length of unemployment and psychological distress was not supported, although self‐esteem was a strong negative determinant of psychological distress during unemployment. Regression analysis showed that the best predictors of psychological health were self‐esteem, perceived social support and perceived adequacy of financial aid received from relatives. Interestingly, perceived adequacy of the financial aid was negatively related to psychological health. This result was contradictory with the previous literature pointing out that financial aid reduces the effects of poverty due to unemployment. The findings of this study are important since the relationship between unemployment duration and psychological health was nonlinear, indicating that relevant services should be especially careful to intervene to increase social support and self‐esteem during these critical times. The other results and limitations are discussed.     

Avoidant coping as a mediator between appearance‐related victimization and self‐esteem in young Australian adolescents

Peer victimization, especially appearance‐related bullying, is a highly stressful experience for a young person and is associated with significant negative outcomes. Perhaps, the most common consequence of peer victimization in adolescence is lowered self‐esteem. Evidence supports the role of low self‐esteem as a non‐specific risk factor and high self‐esteem as a protective factor in the development of mental disorders and social problems in adolescence. Moreover, the literature indicates a robust negative relationship between avoidant coping (i.e. distracting oneself, wishing the situation would go away) and psychological well‐being. In this paper, we test a mediational model of the associations between appearance‐related victimization, avoidance coping and self‐esteem in young Australian adolescents. Boys (N = 194) and girls (N = 185) with a mean age of 11 years completed measures assessing self‐esteem, appearance‐related victimization and styles of coping. The results showed that avoidant coping partially mediates the association between appearance‐related bullying problems and self‐esteem among young adolescents. This finding provides a specific target for psychosocial interventions in schools.     

Gender‐Role Orientation and Alcohol Treatment Outcome1

This study investigated the function of gender‐role orientation as a predictor of socially focused alcohol treatment outcome. Participants were drawn from a randomized controlled trial involving home detoxification with an add‐on psychological intervention to enhance social support and coping. Participants were classified into 4 gender‐role types (androgynous, masculine, feminine, or undifferentiated). Analysis was conducted relating to differential (between gender‐role groups) treatment effects in relation to the main outcome measures of alcohol consumption, alcohol‐related problems and self‐esteem. The relationship between perceived social support and gender‐role type as a function of treatment outcome was also explored. Levels of psychological masculinity and femininity were more predictive of a socially focused treatment outcome than were sex differences.     

Self‐esteem,stigma and community participation amongst people with learning difficulties living in the community

A cross‐sectional study examined the relationship between self‐esteem, community participation, age, perceived stigma and social support amongst a sample of 50 people with mild to moderate learning difficulties attending two day centres. Respondent‐paced, structured interviews following ethical and assessment guidelines were used to gather data. Retest interviews were conducted with 20% of the sample 3 months subsequently and only those measures with good test–retest reliability were used to test hypotheses. The results showed fairly high levels of community participation and self‐esteem. Self‐esteem was negatively correlated with stigma and a sub‐group with high concerns regarding meeting strangers was identified. In accordance with studies of non‐disabled samples, self‐esteem was positively associated with age. Social support was comparable to, or higher than, that observed in non‐disabled samples. High social support was observed for staff going out with respondents and for practical help from liked persons and friends. Community participation appeared to be related to higher self‐esteem in older participants but lower self‐esteem in younger participants. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Self‐esteem and self‐certainty: a mediational analysis

Self‐esteem has been found to be related to the certainty with which specific self‐conceptions are held. This study tested a number of competing accounts for this relationship, using a more rigorous idiographic approach. Specifically, it was thought that the relationship between self‐esteem and self‐certainty might be mediated by self‐concept clarity, the positivity of specific self‐conceptions, and impression management concerns. However, none of these fully mediated the relationship between self‐esteem and self‐certainty. Participants with higher self‐esteem were more certain of their central self‐conceptions than were those with lower self‐esteem. This was true even though participants were allowed to generate their most relevant and central self‐conceptions themselves. Discussion focuses on the role of social information in the possibly direct relationship between self‐esteem and self‐certainty. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

counselors' collective self‐esteem mediates job dissatisfaction and client relationships

Given the central role of professional identity (i.e., collective self‐esteem in this study), the authors examined whether collective self‐esteem mediated or moderated relations between job dissatisfaction and client relationships in a sample of 132 professional counselors in the United States. Results indicated that collective self‐esteem partially mediated the relationship between job dissatisfaction and client relationships. Furthermore, job dissatisfaction was negatively related to greater levels of private collective self‐esteem, and greater private collective self‐esteem was positively related to better client relationships.     

Self‐esteem and emotional health in adolescents – gender and age as potential moderators

Moksnes, U. K. & Espnes, G. A. (2012). Self‐esteem and emotional health in adolescents – gender and age as a potential moderators. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 483–489. The present paper investigates possible gender and age differences on emotional states (depression and anxiety) and self‐esteem as well as the association between self‐esteem and emotional states. The cross‐sectional sectional sample consists of 1,209 adolescents 13–18 years from public elementary and secondary schools in mid‐Norway. The results showed that girls reported higher scores on state anxiety and state depression, whereas boys consistently scored higher on self‐esteem in all age groups. Self‐esteem was strongly and inversely associated with both state depression and state anxiety. An interaction effect of gender by self‐esteem was found on state depression, where the association was stronger for girls than for boys. The associations found give support for the positive role of self‐esteem in relation to adolescents’ emotional health and well‐being.     

Perceived positive teacher–student relationship as a protective factor for Chinese left‐behind children's emotional and behavioural adjustment

Using cross‐sectional data collected in rural communities of two provinces of China, this study examined the protective role of perceived positive teacher–student relationship for Chinese left‐behind children. The participants included 1442 children with a mean age of 14.13 classified into two groups: a left‐behind group (104 boys and 110 girls) and a comparison group (588 boys and 640 girls). Self‐reported questionnaires concerning self‐esteem, depression, problem behaviours and the teacher–student relationship were administered. Relative to the comparison group, after controlling for age, gender and family socioeconomic status, the left‐behind group was disadvantaged in terms of self‐esteem and depression but not in problem behaviours. As hypothesised, the results of regression analyses indicated that teacher–student relationship positively predicted self‐esteem and negatively predicted depression and problem behaviours for both groups. Moreover, the association between teacher–student relationship and depression was stronger among the left‐behind group, suggesting that left‐behind children were more responsive to the positive effect of a desired teacher–student relationship. Taken together, the results of our study support the idea that perceived positive teacher–student relationship may serve as a protective factor for left‐behind children. Practical implications and limitations of the present study are discussed.     

Thinking styles,self‐esteem,and extracurricular experiences

This study had two objectives. The first was to examine the relationship between thinking styles and self‐esteem. The second objective was to investigate the relationship of the participants' extracurricular experiences to both thinking styles and self‐esteem. Seven‐hundred and ninety‐four university students from Hong Kong participated in the study. Participants responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (Sternberg & Wagner, 1992) and the Self‐Esteem Inventory (Adult Form, Coopersmith, 1981) as well as to a questionnaire designed to elicit both personal and situational characteristics. It was found that thinking styles and self‐esteem are statistically related. Meanwhile, both thinking styles and self‐esteem are statistically related to the participants' extracurricular experiences. Implications of these findings for teachers are discussed.     

Self‐esteem and caregiving in romantic relationships: Self‐ and partner perceptions

Self‐esteem may be associated with romantic partners' experience of emotional support and caregiving. Using a sample of 6,385 heterosexual couples in committed relationships gathered from the RELATionship Evaluation (RELATE) data set (see www.relate‐institute.org ), structural equation modeling was used to compare two actor–partner interdependence models examining the associations between both partners' self‐esteem and perceptions of partner caregiving responsiveness (i.e., accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement). Male and female self‐esteem was significantly related to partners' caregiving responsiveness while controlling for family‐of‐origin attachment experiences and relationship stability. Female self‐esteem was also significantly associated with females' caregiving responsiveness. These findings yield important implications, demonstrating that higher self‐esteem may be associated with improved caregiving behaviors between romantic partners. Relevant implications and future research directions are discussed.     

The role of stress and area‐specific self‐esteem in adolescent smoking

Stress and self‐esteem have been shown to be important risk factors for adolescent cigarette smoking, and self‐esteem has previously been implicated as a stress‐moderating and a stress‐mediating variable. This study aimed to examine the associations between stress, area‐specific self‐esteem, and adolescent smoking, and to investigate whether specific areas of self‐esteem moderate or mediate the relationship between stress and smoking. Four hundred and ninety‐five adolescents (aged 14–19) responded to a questionnaire that examined these variables. Results showed that self‐esteem in the areas of school subjects and parent relations were related to smoking. Adolescents with low self‐esteem in these areas were more likely to smoke than their high self‐esteem counterparts. Highly stressed adolescents were more likely to smoke than those with low stress. However, the relationship between stress and smoking was completely mediated by self‐esteem in the area of school subjects. No moderation was revealed. Thus, high global self‐esteem may not be sufficient to reduce the risk of smoking. To maximise benefit, prevention and intervention efforts should target self‐esteem in the areas of school subjects and parent relations. Initiatives focusing on stress are only likely to decrease smoking to the extent that they influence self‐esteem in the area of school subjects.     

En Route to Depression: Self‐Esteem Discrepancies and Habitual Rumination

Dual‐process models of cognitive vulnerability to depression suggest that some individuals possess discrepant implicit and explicit self‐views, such as high explicit and low implicit self‐esteem (fragile self‐esteem) or low explicit and high implicit self‐esteem (damaged self‐esteem). This study investigated whether individuals with discrepant self‐esteem may employ depressive rumination in an effort to reduce discrepancy‐related dissonance, and whether the relationship between self‐esteem discrepancy and future depressive symptoms varies as a function of rumination tendencies. Hierarchical regressions examined whether self‐esteem discrepancy was associated with rumination in an Australian undergraduate sample at Time 1 (N = 306; M_age = 29.9), and whether rumination tendencies moderated the relationship between self‐esteem discrepancy and depressive symptoms assessed 3 months later (n = 160). Damaged self‐esteem was associated with rumination at Time 1. As hypothesized, rumination moderated the relationship between self‐esteem discrepancy and depressive symptoms at Time 2, where fragile self‐esteem and high rumination tendencies at Time 1 predicted the highest levels of subsequent dysphoria. Results are consistent with dual‐process propositions that (a) explicit self‐regulation strategies may be triggered when explicit and implicit self‐beliefs are incongruent, and (b) rumination may increase the likelihood of depression by expending cognitive resources and/or amplifying negative implicit biases.