Self‐esteem discrepancies and identity‐expressive consumption: Evidence from Norwegian adolescents

Prior research established that simultaneously holding discrepant explicit (deliberate, controlled) and implicit (automatic, uncontrolled) self‐esteem gives rise to self‐enhancing behaviours. Given that individuals tend to enhance their self‐concepts with brands that are associated with positive identities, this study examined whether self‐esteem discrepancy was related to the extent to which individuals developed connections with brands that are associated with their in‐groups. Findings from an adolescent sample (ages 16–18) indicated that adolescents with larger discrepancies between explicit and implicit self‐esteem were more likely to construct their self‐concepts using in‐group‐linked brands.     

Agentic and communal narcissism and satisfaction with life: The mediating role of psychological entitlement and self‐esteem

This study examined the mediational role of self‐esteem (as an enhancement) and psychological entitlement (as a cost) in the relationship between an agentic‐communal model of grandiose narcissism and satisfaction with life. Two hundred and forty‐eight university undergraduate students completed measures of agentic and communal narcissism, self‐esteem, psychological entitlement and satisfaction with life. The findings suggest that there is support for the usefulness of the agentic‐communal model of narcissism, and, consistent with predictions in the wider literature, self‐esteem and psychological entitlement mediated the relationship between agentic‐communal narcissism and life satisfaction.     

American and Japanese beliefs about self‐esteem

Cross‐cultural researchers have tended to share the Western assumption that self‐esteem (SE) is both desirable and consequential. However, no study has empirically investigated whether this assumption is shared across cultures. The present research compared the beliefs about SE of 89 American and 98 Japanese university students, in relation to personal levels of SE. It was found that American students view SE as desirable and consequential, whereas Japanese students view SE as desirable but not consequential. However, mediation analysis indicated that beliefs about self‐esteem did not mediate the relationship between culture and personal SE, indicating an, as yet, unidentified source for moderate Japanese SE scores.     

Effect of self‐construal and threat to self‐esteem on ingroup favouritism: Moderating effect of independent/interdependent self‐construal on use of ingroup favouritism for maintaining and enhancing self‐evaluation

The present study examined the hypothesis that in situations that threaten self‐esteem, people with independent self‐construal show more ingroup favouritism, whereas people with interdependent self‐construal do not. Using a minimal group paradigm, consistent with the hypothesis, the results showed that self‐construal and threats to self‐esteem have an interactive effect on ingroup favouritism. Individuals with independent self‐construal showed more ingroup favouritism when their self‐esteem was threatened than when it was not threatened, whereas individuals with interdependent self‐construal exhibited less ingroup favouritism when their self‐esteem was threatened than when it was not threatened. These findings suggest that independent/interdependent self‐construal moderates the use of ingroup favouritism for maintaining and enhancing self‐evaluation.     

Transracial adoptees bridging heritage and national cultures: Parental socialisation,ethnic identity and self‐esteem

Transracial adoptees represent a specific group of immigrants who experience unique immigration processes that bring them face‐to‐face with two cultural backgrounds: that of their heritage culture on one hand and that of their national culture on the other hand. However, there is a scarcity of studies focused on the way these processes unfold within adoptive families. This study was aimed at exploring how transracial adoptees cope with the construction of their ethnic identity. Administering a self‐report questionnaire to 127 transracial adoptees and their mothers, for a total of 254 participants, we first investigated the association between mothers' cultural socialisation (enculturation and preparation for bias strategies) and adoptees' ethnic identity (i.e. ethnic identity exploration and ethnic identity affirmation dimensions). We then investigated whether ethnic identity affects self‐esteem by testing the hypothesis that national identity moderates the relationship between ethnic identity and self‐esteem. Results revealed that mothers' enculturation (but not their preparation for bias) supported adoptees' ethnic identity exploration, which in turn was positively associated with ethnic identity affirmation. Moreover, we confirmed the moderation effect: ethnic identity affirmation enhanced the level of self‐esteem, but only for those adoptees who perceived a higher degree of national identity affirmation.     

Social self‐esteem and self‐reported bullying behaviour among adult prisoners

This paper addresses how social self‐esteem relates to self‐reported bullying behaviour among adult prisoners. It explores both level of self‐esteem and participants’ certainty of their self‐esteem. A total of 502 adult prisoners (285 men and 217 women) completed a self‐report behavioural checklist (Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist) [Ireland JL. 1999. Aggres Behav 25:162–178] that addressed the level of bullying behaviour at their present institution. Prisoners also completed a questionnaire that measured social self‐esteem (Texas Social Behaviour Inventory) [Helmreich R, Stapp J. 1974. Bull Psychonomic Soc 4:473–475]. Four categories of prisoners were compared: bullies, victims, those who reported both bullying others and being victimised themselves (bully/victims), and those who were not involved in bullying behaviour. There were no significant differences among bully categories in total self‐esteem scores. Men reported significantly higher levels of self‐esteem than did women. There were no significant sex or bully category differences in certainty of self‐esteem. Self‐esteem was found to include a number of individual components that differed between the sexes. The findings are discussed, and directions for future research are suggested. Aggr. Behav. 28:184–197, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

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.     

Reliability of implicit self‐esteem measures revisited

This study investigated the internal consistencies and temporal stabilities of different implicit self‐esteem measures. Participants (N = 101) responded twice—with a time lag of 4 weeks—to five different tasks: the Implicit Association Test (IAT), the Brief Implicit Association Test (BIAT), the Affective Priming Task (APT), the Identification‐Extrinsic Affective Simon Task (ID‐EAST) and the Name‐Letter Task (NLT). As expected, the highest reliability coefficients were obtained for the self‐esteem IAT. Importantly, the internal consistencies and the temporal stabilities of the APT, the ID‐EAST, and the NLT were substantially improved by using material, structural, and analytic innovations. In particular, the use of the adaptive response‐window procedure for the APT, the computation of error scores for the ID‐EAST, and the computation of a double corrected scoring algorithm for the NLT yielded reliability coefficients comparable to those of the established IAT. Implications for the indirect assessment of self‐esteem are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parental authority,nurturance, and two‐dimensional self‐esteem

Tafarodi, R. W., Wild, N. & Ho, C. (2010). Parental authority, nurturance, and two‐dimensional self‐esteem. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. This study examined the relations of parental permissiveness, authoritativeness, authoritarianism, and nurturance with two dimensions of self‐esteem – self‐liking and self‐competence. In a sample of 207 two‐parent families, university students and both their parents provided independent reports on all the above variables. Covariance structure analysis was used to eliminate reporter‐specific bias and unreliability in predicting student self‐esteem from parenting behavior. The results revealed highly redundant positive associations of mothers’ and fathers’ authoritativeness and nurturance with both self‐liking and self‐competence. The pattern of these associations suggests that the significance of parental authoritativeness for the child’s self‐esteem is due mainly to the nurturance it provides. Contrary to expectation, mothers’ and fathers’ authoritarianism was also positively associated with self‐liking. As discussed, however, this is likely to be an artifact of the specific measures and testing methods used.     

The relationship between perceived religious discrimination and self‐esteem for Muslim Australians

Muslim Australians represent one of the fastest growing migrant groups in Australia. They are also the group who, after Indigenous Australians, experience the most discrimination. Previous research on the minority stress model confirms a link between such discrimination and mental health. However, in relation to self‐esteem and discrimination, the results are mixed, potentially reflecting whether people reject or identify with prejudiced views of them and also the type of discrimination being measured. To explore this issue further in an Australian context, we asked 49 Australian Muslims to complete Rosenberg's Self‐esteem Scale and the Perceived Religious Discrimination Scale. In support of both the minority stress model and the rejection‐identification model, we found that perceived interpersonal and systemic discrimination accounts for a small but significant variation in self‐esteem. Interpersonal discrimination was negatively related to self‐esteem, and systemic discrimination positively related. The effects of interpersonal discrimination on self‐esteem can guide therapists to interventions that help clients resist internalising discrimination experiences. The effects of institutional discrimination support therapists becoming part of the resistance to and challenging of discrimination and inequality.     

Associations of self‐esteem and temperament traits to self‐ and teacher‐reported social status among classmates

Hintsanen, M., Alatupa, S., Pullmann, H., Hirstiö‐Snellman, P. & Keltikangas‐Järvinen, L. (2010). Associations of self‐esteem and temperament traits to self‐ and teacher‐reported social status among classmates. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 51, 488–494. The present study examined the validity of self‐ and teacher‐reported social status and its relations to self‐esteem and temperament in a geographically representative cohort of Finnish adolescents (N = 3941, mean age 15.1 years). High agreement was found between self‐ and teacher‐rated social status (r = 0.42). Different aspects of self‐esteem were differently related to social status. When other temperament and self‐esteem variables were included in the analyses, strongest predictor for self‐rated social status in both genders was social self‐esteem (p < 0.01) and for teacher‐rated social status general self‐esteem (p < 0.01). The strongest temperamental predictors of social status were lower inhibition in girls (p < 0.01, self‐ and teacher‐rated) and higher impulsivity (p < 0.01, self‐rated) and activity (p < 0.01, teacher‐rated) in boys. The present findings are consistent with the view that social functioning and peer relations are associated with individual differences in self‐concept and temperament dimensions.     

Equivalence of serufuesutei‐mu (self‐esteem) and jisonshin in Japan

Most studies of Japanese self‐esteem have implicitly assumed that the concept of self‐esteem (SE) is indigenously meaningful. However, this has not been shown to be true. The present research investigated whether the indigenous Japanese word jisonshin is semantically equivalent to the English expression SE and, by implication, whether it denotes the same concept as originally delineated by Rosenberg, that of having a positive attitude toward oneself. Japanese participants (N = 234) responded to 11 pairs of statements about SE and several other items. Half of the statements contained the expression serufuesutei‐mu (self‐esteem), the other half the expression jisonshin. Participants independently judged the two expressions to be ‘basically’ synonymous, but endorsed some otherwise identical statements significantly more often when they contained the expression serufuesutei‐mu, suggesting that the differences were due to the foreign connotations of the expression serufuesutei‐mu.     

Cyber victimization and adolescent self‐esteem: The role of communication with parents

Internet use has increased rapidly in recent years, and has inevitably led to some negative outcomes, notably cyber bullying and cyber victimization. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of cyber victimization and parent–adolescent communication on self‐esteem, and the moderating role of parent–adolescent communication in the relationship between cyber victimization and self‐esteem among Turkish adolescents. The participants were 337 adolescents with a mean age of 16.37, (SD = 0.89). The results of hierarchical regression analysis reveal that self‐esteem was predicted negatively by cyber victimization, but positively by mother–adolescent communication. Results also indicate the moderating roles of parent–adolescent communication in the links between cyber victimization and self‐esteem. The findings indicate a need to consider the parent–adolescent relationship while working with victimized youth, and the implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Dissimilar effects of task‐relevant and interpersonal threat on independent–interdependent self‐construal in individuals with high self‐esteem

Previous research has indicated that individuals with high trait self‐esteem (HSEs) become more independent and less interdependent after experiencing a task‐relevant threat. However, these studies have not investigated other sources of ego threats, such as interpersonal threats. Therefore, the moderating effects of the degree of trait self‐esteem on task‐relevant and interpersonal ego threats were investigated in relation to independent, or interdependent self‐construal. It was predicted that in HSEs, the level of task‐relevant stress would be positively–negatively related to their independence–interdependence, whereas the level of interpersonal stress would be negatively–positively related to their independence–interdependence. In individuals with low trait self‐esteem (LSEs), the two types of stresses and independent–interdependent self‐construal may not have a significant relationship. We conducted a questionnaire survey with undergraduates. Correlational analysis of the results indicated that in HSEs, greater task‐relevant stress was related to heightened independence, whereas greater interpersonal stress had the opposite effect, indicating lower independence and heightened interdependence. However, these stresses were not related to the self‐construal of LSEs. These findings suggest that task‐relevant and interpersonal threat could have differential effects on independent and interdependent self‐construal for HSEs, but not in LSEs.     

Behavioral and self‐reported aggression as a function of domain‐specific self‐esteem

On the basis of a domain‐specific theory of self‐esteem, it was hypothesized that functionally distinct domains of self‐esteem would predict aggression differentially. Participants completed self‐report measures of self‐perceived superiority, mate value, social inclusion, and global self‐esteem, as well as of aggression. Self‐assessed mate value emerged as a reliable, positive predictor, and social inclusion as a reliable inverse predictor, of self‐reported hostility and aggression. In a subsequent laboratory experiment, in which participants had an opportunity to aggress against the source of positive or negative feedback about a personal essay that they had written, mate value again predicted increased aggression, whereas global self‐esteem predicted decreased aggression. These main effects were moderated by the feedback manipulation, such that their respective simple effects were only present among participants that received negative feedback. Aggr. Behav. 00:1–11, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Personal vulnerability and work‐home interaction: The effect of job performance‐based self‐esteem on work/home conflict and facilitation

Innstrand, S. T., Langballe, E. M., Espnes, G. A., Aasland, O. G. & Falkum, E. (2010). Personal vulnerability and work‐home interaction: The effect of job performance‐based self‐esteem on work/home conflict and facilitation. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 51, 480–487. The aim of the present study was to examine the longitudinal relationship between job performance‐based self‐esteem (JPB‐SE) and work‐home interaction (WHI) in terms of the direction of the interaction (work‐to‐home vs. home‐to‐work) and the effect (conflict vs. facilitation). A sample of 3,475 respondents from eight different occupational groups (lawyers, physicians, nurses, teachers, church ministers, bus drivers, and people working in advertising and information technology) supplied data at two points of time with a two‐year time interval. The two‐wave, cross‐lagged structural equations modeling (SEM) analysis demonstrated reciprocal relationships between these variables, i.e., job performance‐based self‐esteem may act as a precursor as well as an outcome of work‐home interaction. The strongest association was between job performance‐based self‐esteem and work‐to‐home conflict. Previous research on work‐home interaction has mainly focused on situational factors. This longitudinal study expands the work‐home literature by demonstrating how individual vulnerability (job performance‐based self‐esteem) contributes to the explanation of work‐home interactions.     

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.     

Genetic and environmental influences on the association between performance‐based self‐esteem and exhaustion: A study of the self‐worth notion of burnout

In the self‐worth model, burnout is considered to be a syndrome of performance‐based self‐esteem (PBSE) and experiences of exhaustion. Studies have shown that PBSE and burnout indices such as Pines’ Burnout Measure (BM) are associated. Whether these variables have overlapping etiologies has however not been studied before. Genetic and environmental components of covariation between PBSE and exhaustion measured with Pines’ BM were examined in a bivariate Cholesky model using data from 14,875 monozygotic and dizygotic Swedish twins. Fifty‐two per cent of the phenotypic correlation (r = 0.41) between PBSE and Pines’ BM was explained by genetics and 48% by environmental factors. The findings of the present study strengthen the assumption that PBSE should be considered in the burnout process as proposed by the self‐worth conception of burnout. The present results extend our understanding of the link between this contingent self‐esteem construct and exhaustion and provide additional information about the underlying mechanisms in terms of genetics and environment. This finding corroborates the assumed syndrome view on burnout, while it also suggests an altered view of how the syndrome emerges and how it can be alleviated.