Self-Esteem

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Self-Esteem
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Rosenberg self-esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1965)
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Development

• Young children high self esteem due to
  unrealistically positive self views
• Older children declining self esteem due to
  external feedback
• Adolescence declining self esteem due to
  abstract thinking about body image future
• Adulthood increasing self esteem due to
  increased position of power status peak late
  60s
• Old Age decline in self esteem due to changing
  roles, relationships physical functioning
  decline in narcissism feel modest, humble,
  balanced Eriksons ego integrity vs. despair
• Slide by Vanessa Gonzalez. Source Robins, R. W.,
  Trzesniewski, K. H. (2005). Self-Esteem
  Development Across the Lifespan. Current
  Directions in Psychological Science, 14(3),
  158-162.

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Gender

• Males and females follow same trajectory
• Males have higher self esteem than girls in
  adolescence due to body image and other issues,
  but then converge in old age
• Slide by Vanessa Gonzalez. Source Robins, R. W.,
  Trzesniewski, K. H. (2005). Self-Esteem
  Development Across the Lifespan. Current
  Directions in Psychological Science, 14(3),
  158-162.

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Stability

• Self esteem is stable and trait-like not
  state-like
• Low stability during early childhood, midlife,
  and old age, high stability during adolescence
  and early adulthood
• Slide by Vanessa Gonzalez. Source Robins, R. W.,
  Trzesniewski, K. H. (2005). Self-Esteem
  Development Across the Lifespan. Current
  Directions in Psychological Science, 14(3),
  158-162.

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Self-Esteem and Externalizing Problems

• Low self-esteem is significantly related to
  externalizing problems such as aggression
• this relationship is shown across self-reports,
  parent and teacher ratings, with people of
  different nationalities.
• The relationship between low self-esteem and
  aggression is independent of narcissism.
• Narcissism acts as a suppressor which increases
  the negative relationship between self-esteem and
  antisocial behavior.
• Self-esteem acts as a suppressor which increases
  the positive relationship between narcissism and
  antisocial behavior.
• Slide by Lisa Ibanez. Source Donnellan, M. B.,
  Trzesniewski, K. H., Robins, R. W., Moffitt, T.
  E., Caspi, A. (2005). Low Self-Esteem Is
  Related to Aggression, Antisocial Behavior, and
  Delinquency. Psychological Science, 16(4),
  328-335.

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Low self-esteem?Delinquency
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Low self-esteem?ExternalizingNew Zealand model
(N830)
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Low self-esteem?Externalizing(age 11?13)
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Reading Achievement and Antisocial Behavior

• Association between reading achievement and
  antisocial behavior
• investigated using the Environmental Risk
  (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally
  representative 1994-1995 birth cohort of 5- and
  7-year-olds
• Association resulted from environmental factors
  common to both reading and antisocial behavior
  and was stronger in boys
• Environmental factors also explained the relation
  between reading disability and conduct disorder
• Leading candidate environmental risk factors
  weakly mediated the association
• For boys the best explanation was a reciprocal
  causation model poor reading led to antisocial
  behavior, and vice versa
• In contrast, the relation between reading
  achievement and attention deficit hyperactivity
  disorder was best explained by common genetic
  influences
• Trzesniewski, K. H., Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A.,
  Taylor, A., Maughan, B. (2006). Revisiting the
  Association Between Reading Achievement and
  Antisocial Behavior New Evidence of an
  Environmental Explanation From a Twin Study.
  Child Development, 77(1), 72-88.