Global Self-Esteem Across the Life Span: A Cross-Sectional Comparison Between Representative and Self-Selected Internet Samples

Pullmann, Helle; Allik, Jüri; Realo, Anu

doi:10.1080/03610730802544708

Cited by 37 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Whereas the findings of Robins et al (2002) are relatively SELF-ESTEEM DEVELOPMENT 8 similar to the longitudinal evidence reviewed above, the results of McMullin and Cairney (2004) and Pullmann et al (2009) diverge more strongly. A possible explanation for this inconsistency is that cross-sectional data generally suffer from important limitations, such as confounding agerelated changes with cohort effects (Baltes, Cornelius, & Nesselroade, 1979).…”

Section: Previous Research On Lifespan Development Of Self-esteemmentioning

confidence: 53%

Self-esteem development across the life span: A longitudinal study with a large sample from Germany.

Orth

Maes

Schmitt

2015

Developmental Psychology

113

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We examined the development of self-esteem across the lifespan. Data came from a German longitudinal study with three assessments across 4 years of a sample of 2,509 individuals aged 14 to 89 years. The self-esteem measure used showed strong measurement invariance across assessments and birth cohorts. Latent growth curve analyses indicated that self-esteem follows a quadratic trajectory across the lifespan, increasing during adolescence, young adulthood, and middle adulthood, reaching a peak at age 60 years, and then declining in old age. No cohort effects on average levels of self-esteem or on the shape of the trajectory were found. Moreover, the trajectory did not differ across gender, level of education, or for individuals who had lived continuously in West vs. East Germany (i.e., the two separate countries from 1949 to 1990).However, the results suggested that employment status, household income, and satisfaction in the domains of work, relationships, and health contribute to a more positive lifespan trajectory of self-esteem. The findings have significant implications because they call attention to developmental stages in which individuals may be vulnerable due to low self-esteem (such as adolescence and old age) and to factors that predict successful versus problematic developmental trajectories.Keywords: self-esteem, lifespan development, measurement invariance, longitudinal SELF-ESTEEM DEVELOPMENT 3 Self-Esteem Development Across the Lifespan: A Longitudinal Study with a Large Sample from GermanyHow the self-esteem of individuals develops as they go through life is of considerable societal significance because mounting evidence suggests that self-esteem is predictive of a person's success and well-being in important life domains such as relationships, work, and health. For example, longitudinal research indicates that self-esteem predicts satisfaction in marriage and close relationships (Orth, Robins, & Widaman, 2012), social support (Marshall, Parker, Ciarrochi, & Heaven, 2014), success and well-being in working life (Kuster, Orth, & Meier, 2013;Orth et al., 2012), mental health (Sowislo & Orth, 2013;Trzesniewski et al., 2006), and physical health (Orth et al., 2012;Trzesniewski et al., 2006). In recent years, a growing number of studies have provided important insights into the nature and consequences of selfesteem development (for a review, see Orth & Robins, 2014). However, few longitudinal studies have examined self-esteem from a lifespan perspective, due to the lack of studies that included samples with sufficiently broad age ranges. As yet, two longitudinal data sets have been used to track the self-esteem trajectory across the lifespan (Orth et al., 2012;Orth, Trzesniewski, & Robins, 2010). However, although these studies yielded converging evidence on the lifespan trajectory, their samples came from a single country (specifically, the United States). Given that cultures shape the prototypical self-concept and tendency toward self-enhancement among their members (Heine, Lehman, Markus, & ...

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Section: Previous Research On Lifespan Development Of Self-esteemmentioning

confidence: 53%

Self-esteem development across the life span: A longitudinal study with a large sample from Germany.

Orth

Maes

Schmitt

2015

Developmental Psychology

113

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Both time metrics explained about equal shares of variance that did not exceed 8% of the total variation in self-esteem. Such findings suggest that in general, long-term self-esteem development may not be adequately described by either age-related or time-to-death-related processes that underlie the existing individual differences (cf., Pullmann et al, 2009). Thus, more mechanism-oriented research on self-esteem is needed to get a better handle at change-inducing effects of life-events or conditions that either support or compromise positive self-evaluations throughout adulthood and particularly late life (see Fauth et al, in press; Ram, Gerstorf, Fauth, Zarit, & Malmberg, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One important aspect that has been revealed by previous studies relates to the substantial individual differences in both levels of and changes in self-esteem across the life span and, particularly so, in old age (Pullmann et al, 2009; Trzesniewski et al, 2003). Correlates related to self-esteem have been identified in a variety of different domains, including socio-demographics, physical health characteristics, cognitive abilities, self-regulation, and social inclusion.…”

Section: Correlates Of Self-esteem Change In Late Lifementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, self-esteem, typically defined as the general evaluation and appraisal of one’s worth (Leary & Baumeister, 2000; Orth et al, 2011), has been shown to increase when people transition into young adulthood (Erol & Orth, 2011; Wagner, Lüdtke, Jonkemann, & Trautwein, 2013), then reaches a relatively stable plateau by midlife, and eventually starts declining at about age 65 (Orth, Trzesniewski, & Robins, 2010; Robins, Trzesniewski, Tracy, Gosling & Potter, 2002). However, there is also evidence that self-esteem is, on average, relatively stable after age 60 (Huang, 2010; Pullmann, Allik, & Realo, 2009; Wagner, Gerstorf, Hoppmann, & Luszcz, 2013). Over and above these typical developmental trends, there are often pronounced individual differences in self-esteem that have been linked to key variables in other domains of functioning.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Self-esteem is relatively stable late in life: The role of resources in the health, self-regulation, and social domains.

Wagner

Hoppmann

Ram

et al. 2015

Developmental Psychology

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A large body of research has documented changes in self-esteem across adulthood and individual-difference correlates thereof. However, little is known about whether people maintain their self-esteem until the end of life and what role key risk factors in the health, cognitive, self-regulatory, and social domains play. To examine these questions, we apply growth modeling to 13-year longitudinal data obtained from by now deceased participants of the Berlin Aging Study (BASE, N = 462; age 70 – 103, M = 86.3 yrs., SD = 8.3; 51% male). Results revealed that self-esteem, on average, does decline in very old age and close to death, but the amount of typical decline is minor. Health-related constraints and disabilities as well as lower control beliefs and higher loneliness were each associated with lower self-esteem late in life. We obtained initial evidence that some of these associations were stronger among the oldest-old participants. Our results corroborate and extend initial reports that self-esteem is, on average, fairly stable into the last years of life. We discuss possible pathways by which common and often severe late-life challenges may undermine an otherwise relatively robust self-esteem system.

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“…However, we did not find any significant difference between the two groups, but their scores fall within normal range, with adolescents in seminary mean score higher than their counter parts. Previous studies on self-esteem have reported inconsistent results during adolescence (Huang 2010;McMullin and Cairney 2004;Pullmann et al 2009;Young and Mroczek 2003). Var et al (2011) in their study on psychosocial problems in Kashmiri youth reported no significant difference between different groups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Mental Health and Self-Esteem of Institutionalized Adolescents Affected by Armed Conflict

War

Ved²,

Paul

2015

J Relig Health

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The primary purpose of this paper was to compare the epidemiology of mental health problems and self-esteem of conflict hit adolescents living in charitable seminaries with their counterparts brought up in natural homes. Substantive body of the literature illustrates the emotional and behavioral issues experienced by these adolescents. In this study, 27 adolescents from a charitable Muslim seminary and 30 adolescents from a regular school were recruited. Self-report measures and clinical interview were used to measure mental health and self-esteem. The findings indicate that adolescents in institution setting may not be having mental health and self-esteem-related issues when compared to adolescents living in intact by parent homes. While the authors acknowledge the limitations of the study, these findings need further research to examine the causes for these differences.

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Global Self-Esteem Across the Life Span: A Cross-Sectional Comparison Between Representative and Self-Selected Internet Samples

Cited by 37 publications

References 54 publications

Self-esteem development across the life span: A longitudinal study with a large sample from Germany.

Self-esteem development across the life span: A longitudinal study with a large sample from Germany.

Self-esteem is relatively stable late in life: The role of resources in the health, self-regulation, and social domains.

Mental Health and Self-Esteem of Institutionalized Adolescents Affected by Armed Conflict

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