Heterogeneity in Self-Esteem Development: New Theoretical Insights and Longitudinal Evidence

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

In the past decades, parents and teachers have become increasingly concerned about raising children’s self-esteem. This is understandable given self-esteem’s role in children’s mental health, social relationships, and academic performance. Yet contemporary theories emphasize that there is more to self-esteem than just how high or low it is. The symposium will integrate new advances in the study of heterogeneity in self-esteem development. It presents four longitudinal studies of self-esteem at different levels of processing (implicit, explicit), across contexts (academic, clinical), and across age groups (from childhood to adulthood).

Paper 1 shows that domain-specific self-evaluations show diverging developmental trajectories. A large-scale meta-analysis (N = 112,204) demonstrates that some domain-specific self-evaluations increase from childhood to adulthood (e.g., social acceptance), whereas others decline (e.g., mathematics). Paper 2 shows that discrepancies between early implicit self-esteem (age 5) and later explicit self-esteem (age 9) predict depressive (but not anxiety) symptoms. Paper 3 extends this work by examining how level and contingency of academic self-esteem emerge in early adolescence (age 12). While level of self-esteem is predicted by parents’ autonomy-supportive involvement and process-oriented feedback (e.g., feedback on children’s efforts and strategies), contingency of self-esteem is predicted by parents’ controlling involvement and person-oriented feedback (e.g., feedback on children’s intelligence). Paper 4 shows that downward social comparisons can cultivate narcissism rather than self-esteem in early adolescence (ages 11-15).

Together, these papers suggest a broadening of a research focus in developmental science to examine heterogeneity in children’s self-esteem. Understanding such heterogeneity will be critical for developing effective intervention tools.

Sub Unit

• Social, Emotional, Personality

Chairs

• Eddie Brummelman, Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA)

• Dario Cvencek, University of Washington

Individual Presentations

• Development of Domain-Specific Self-Evaluations: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies - Presenting Author: Ulrich Orth, Universität Bern; Non-Presenting Author: Laura C. Dapp, University of Bern; Non-Presenting Author: Ruth Yasemin Erol, University of Bern; Non-Presenting Author: Samantha Krauss, Universität Bern; Non-Presenting Author: Eva C. Luciano, University of Bern

• Using Implicit–Explicit Discrepancies in Self-Esteem to Predict Childhood Depression at Age 9 - Presenting Author: Dario Cvencek, University of Washington; Non-Presenting Author: Anthony G. Greenwald, University of Washington; Non-Presenting Author: Katie McLaughlin, Harvard University; Non-Presenting Author: Andrew N Meltzoff, University of Washington

• The Role of Parental Involvement and Feedback in Adolescents’ Level and Contingency of Academic Self-Worth - Presenting Author: Bart Soenens, Ghent University; Non-Presenting Author: Michiel Boncquet, Ghent University; Non-Presenting Author: Maarten Vansteenkiste, Ghent University; Non-Presenting Author: Jeroen Lavrijsen, KULeuven; Non-Presenting Author: Karine Verschueren

• Social Comparisons (but not Temporal Comparisons) Maintain Narcissism in Adolescence - Presenting Author: Cisem Gurel, Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA); Non-Presenting Author: Geertjan Overbeek, University of Amsterdam; Non-Presenting Author: Eddie Brummelman, Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA)