Fragile Self‐Esteem in Children and Its Associations With Perceived Patterns of Parent‐Child Communication

Abstract

We examined the extent to which 11- to 12-year-old children's (N = 174) self-esteem (SE) stability and level related to their perceptions of various aspects of parent-child communication. Compared to children with stable SE, children with unstable SE reported that their fathers were more critical and psychologically controlling, and less likely to acknowledge their positive behaviors or to show their approval in value-affirming ways. Likewise, children with low SE reported that their fathers exhibited these qualities to a greater extent than did children with high SE. In addition, fathers of children with stable high SE were viewed as especially good at problem solving. Children's SE level related to perceptions of mothers' communication styles very similarly to how it did with fathers'; with respect to SE stability, however, relationships were generally less consistent and frequently absent. Discussion centered on the role of parent-child communication in promoting unstable SE.

Genetic influences on level and stability of self-esteem

“…The criterion validity of the LSES is good, as this scale correlates with a standard self-esteem level scale (i.e., the RSI) at r ¼ .55, p 5 .001 (De Cremer & Sedikides, 2005), a pattern consistent with correlations reported not only by Kernis and colleagues (Kernis, Brown, & Brody, 2000;Kernis & Waschull, 1995) but also other researchers (Roberts et al, 1995) who used the SD. Additionally, the LSES correlates with other indices of the more general psychological construct of selfuncertainty, such as the self-doubt scale (Oleson, Poehlmann, Yost, Lynch, & Arkin, 2000) and the self-concept clarity (Campbell, Trapnell, Heine, Katz, Lavallee, & Lehman, 1996).…”

Facilitating parent-teenager communication through interactive photo cubes

“…Everyday communication appeared to be much more mundane, and we identified no major concerns in such everyday conversations. While we are aware of the diversity and range of addressing parent-teenager communication, such as health-related and problem-predicting behavior (e.g., sex, drugs, alcohol, and smoking), with whom to communicate [e.g., 34], openness of communication [e.g., 2], and importance of communication [e.g., 35, 36], we decided to focus on a specific topic within this domain, focusing in the first place on more everyday communication. We set out to design a product for parents and teenagers that facilitates communicating in a pleasant way about the parents' past and experiences.…”

Kenakalan Pada Remaja Andikpas (Anak Didik Lapas): Pengaruh Komunikasi Orang Tua atau Self-Esteem?

“…Hal ini disebabkan karena anak memiliki sensitivitas terhadap evaluasi dan kritikan sehingga anak menjadi enggan berbicara dan kehilangan penghargaan terhadap dirinya sendiri. Remaja dengan selfesteem yang stabil dilaporkan terlibat dalam interaksi yang lebih intensif dengan orang tuanya (Kernis, Brown, & Brody, 2000 (Norrell, 1984). Kesediaan orang tua untuk berinteraksi, baik ibu maupun ayah masingmasing memberikan kontribusi signifikan terhadap perkembangan self-esteem remaja.…”