Self-esteem growth trajectory from adolescence to mid-adulthood and its predictors in adolescence

Protective factors for suicidal ideation: a prospective study from adolescence to adulthood

Adolescent suicidality is associated with negative outcomes in adulthood. Suicide prevention has traditionally focused on identifying risk factors, yet suicide rates have remained stable. With suicidality often going undetected-especially suicidal ideation, further knowledge about protective factors is needed. The main objective of this study was to investigate potential protective factors for suicidal ideation from adolescence to adulthood. The study employed longitudinal population survey data, "Youth and Mental Health Study" consisting of self-reports at two-time points (mean age 14.9, SD = 0.6 and 27.2, SD = 0.6) (n = 2423 and n = 1198). Protective factors (at individual, social and environmental level) were selected based on a priori knowledge. Internal consistency of scales was analyzed using McDonald's omega. We used a linear mixed model with suicidal ideation as the dependent variable, time-points, a protective factor variable and their interaction as covariates, and individual participant as random effects. We adjusted for sex and also conducted separate analyses for males and females. The Benjamini-Hochberg procedure was used to adjust p-values for multiple hypotheses. Investigated protective factors were associated with temporal change in suicidal ideation (significant interactions). For both sexes, less emotion-orientated coping, higher self-perception scores, greater levels of physical activity and higher school wellbeing/connectedness were protective factors for suicidal ideations. Secure attachment and higher family function were protective factors for females only. The effects in adolescence were mostly maintained in adulthood. In this study, several protective factors for suicidal ideation persisted into adulthood, with distinct differences between males and females.

Associations between childhood adversity, psychiatric symptoms, and self-esteem outcomes in adolescents and young adults: An experience sampling study

OBJECTIVES

Self-esteem and self-esteem stability are important factors during adolescence and young adulthood that can be negatively impacted by childhood adversity and psychiatric symptoms. We examined whether childhood adversity and psychiatric symptoms are associated with decreased global self-esteem as well as increased self-esteem instability as measured with experience sampling method. In addition, we examined if childhood adversity moderates the association between psychiatric symptoms and self-esteem outcomes.

METHODS

Our study consisted of 788 adolescents and young adults who were part of a twin pair. The twin structure was not of interest to the current study. Mean age was 16.8 (SD = 2.38, range: 14-25), 42% was male. We used a multilevel modeling approach to examine our hypotheses to account for the presence of twins in the data set.

RESULTS

Childhood adversity and psychiatric symptoms were negatively associated with global self-esteem (respectively standardized β = -.18, SE = 0.04, p < .0001 and standardized β = -.45, SE = 0.04, p < .0001), with a larger effect for psychiatric symptoms. Similarly, both were associated with increased self-esteem instability (respectively standardized β = .076, SE = 0.025, p = .002 and standardized β = .11, SE = 0.021, p < .0001). In addition, interactions between childhood adversity and psychiatric symptoms on both global self-esteem (standardized β = .06, SE = 0.01, p < .0001) and self-esteem instability (standardized β = -.002, SE = 0.0006, p = .001) were found, showing that the negative association of psychiatric symptoms with self-esteem outcomes is less pronounced in young people with higher levels of childhood adversity, or formulated differently, is more pronounced in young people with little or no exposure to childhood adversity.

CONCLUSION

Global self-esteem and self-esteem instability in young people are influenced by both current psychiatric symptomatology and exposure to childhood adversity. Those with more psychiatric symptoms show worse self-esteem and higher self-esteem instability, which is moderated by childhood adversity. For young people with high childhood adversity levels lower self-esteem and higher self-esteem instability are less influenced by reductions in psychiatric symptoms.

The contribution of self-concept to sleep quality in adolescents: A cross-sectional study

Self-concept has been associated with health-related behaviors and emotional self-regulation, which can improve sleep. However, its involvement in sleep quality in a healthy adolescent population has been little studied. This study evaluated the association between self-concept and sleep quality in adolescents adjusting for sleep/wake habits. The cross-sectional study included 1,751 adolescents, 54% females, with an age of M = 16.76 ± 1.04 years. The information was collected through an electronic survey that contained the Patient Health Questionnaire, Sleep Habits Questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Self-Concept Scale. A significant association between self-concept, adjustment for adolescents´ characteristics and sleep/wake habits was observed (R² = .17, F = 26.61, p < .001). That is, in addition to the adolescent habits, self-concept also contributed to the explanation of sleep/wake habits. These results reinforce the idea that the self-concept can be an essential factor that contributes to better sleep quality, despite the habits of adolescents.

Self-esteem development during the transition to work: A 14-year longitudinal study from adolescence to young adulthood

INTRODUCTION

Previous studies examined the trajectory of self-esteem during critical developmental periods and over the life-span. However, little is known about how self-esteem changes during the school-to-work transition.

METHOD

We examined the effect of beginning a job for the first time on self-esteem development, using data from 368 adolescents assessed up to six times across a 14-year time span. Specifically, we analyzed the pattern of self-esteem change during the transition to work and whether the self-esteem trajectory varied as a function of several school- and job-related variables, while controlling for important covariates.

RESULTS

Results revealed linear increases in self-esteem across the 14-year study period, with partial support that the rate of increase slowed slightly after the school-to-work transition. We found significantly greater variability in the slopes after the transition, supporting the idea that people differ in the way they cope with the developmental tasks associated with important life transitions. We also found evidence for an interaction between college graduation and educational expectations, such that the positive effect of college graduation on self-esteem change was stronger for those who graduated with low (vs. high) educational expectations.

CONCLUSION

School-to-work transition has an effect on self-esteem development. Developmental processes of findings were discussed.

Good can be stronger than bad: the daily relationship among maternal warmth, mother-teen conflict and adolescents' self-esteem

Self-esteem is associated with adaptive adolescent outcomes but tends to decline in adolescence. Parent-teen warmth has been linked to concurrent increases in adolescents' self-esteem while adolescents' conflict with parents is detrimental to their self-esteem in cross-sectional or longitudinal studies. However, it is unknown how adolescents experience of maternal warmth and conflict with mothers are correlated with their daily self-esteem, and whether these associations vary in adolescents' gender, age and family subjective socioeconomic status (SES) from the perspective of Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) theory. To address this gap, 293 adolescents (M age = 13.88 years, SD = .62) were recruited from a school, reporting their daily experience of maternal warmth, conflict with mothers and self-esteem by answering checklists for up to 7 days. Multilevel analysis showed that adolescents reported significantly higher self-esteem on days they experienced more warmth or less conflict with mothers than usual. Moreover, maternal warmth was linked to next-day self-esteem positively, yet mother-teen conflict not shown this spill-over effect. Gender, age and subjective SES did not moderate all the daily associations among mother-teen warmth, conflict and self-esteem. Findings suggest that mother-teen interactions play both protective and detrimental role in adolescents' daily self-image and that "good" interaction goes a longer way than "bad" one.

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale: Translation and Validation in the Greek Language in Adolescents

Self-esteem constitutes a characteristic which can influence the person in many dimensions, depending on the perception positive or negative, which the individual has for himself/herself. The most usable tool for measuring self-esteem is the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). In order to be validated in the Greek language in adolescents, the RSES was completed by 204 high school students, aged 12 to 18 years, at a private school in the suburbs of the region of Attica in Greece. Additional questionnaires were administered simultaneously, i.e., the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventories, Third Edition (CFSEI-3) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The reliability and validity results of the RSES indicated satisfactory internal reliability index (Cronbach's a .89 and .80). The RSES showed good concurrent validity. Statistically significant relationships with academic performance and PANAS were observed. The Greek version of the RSES is short, easy to administer, and comprehensible by the teenagers and can be used for the measurement of self-esteem in adolescents in Greece.

Stress, development and mental health study, the follow-up study of Finnish TAM cohort from adolescence to midlife: cohort profile

PURPOSE

This cohort profile describes the Stress, development and mental health study (TAM), which is a cohort study investigating risk and protective factors as well as longitudinal associations regarding mental health and well-being from adolescence to midlife. This interdisciplinary cohort study operates, for example, in the fields of public health, social medicine, psychiatry and the life course perspective.

PARTICIPANTS

In 1981 (n=2242, 98.0% of the target population), 1982 (n=2191, 95.6%) and 1983 (n=2194, 96.7%) during school classes, surveys were conducted to all Finnish-speaking pupils (mostly born 1967) in the Tampere region in Finland. Participants of the school study at age 16 in 1983 (n=2194) comprised the base population for the longitudinal data and were followed-up using postal questionnaires in the years 1989, 1999, 2009 and 2019 at ages 22 (n=1656, 75.5% of the age 16 participants), 32 (n=1471, 67.0%), 42 (n=1334, 60.8%) and 52 (n=1160, 52.9%).

FINDINGS TO DATE

The self-reported questionnaires include information on physical and mental health (eg, depression and mood disorders, anxiety disorders), health behaviour and substance misuse (eg, alcohol, tobacco and exercise), socioeconomic conditions, psychosocial resources (eg, self-esteem), social relationships and support, life events, etc. The numerous studies published to date have examined mental health and various factors from several perspectives such as risk and protective factors, individual developmental paths (eg, trajectories) and pathway models (mediation and moderation).

FUTURE PLANS

Current and future research areas include, for example, longitudinal associations between mental health (eg, depressive symptoms, self-esteem) and (1) substance use (alcohol and tobacco), (2) family transitions (eg, parenthood, relationship status) and (3) retirement. Next follow-up is planned to be conducted at the latest at age 62 in 2029. Before that it is possible to link the data with cause-of-death register.

The interplay of familial warmth and LGBTQ+ specific family rejection on LGBTQ+ adolescents' self-esteem

INTRODUCTION

Our study sought to assess the interplay of family dynamics, namely familial warmth and LGBTQ+ specific rejection, and its association to self-esteem in a non-probabilistic sample of LGBTQ+ adolescents in the United States.

METHODS

Stratified by (1) cisgender and (2) transgender and non-binary LGBTQ+ adolescents (N = 8774), we tested multivariable regression analyses to assess the association between familial warmth and LGBTQ+ specific family rejection, adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics. We then conducted a sub-analysis with LGBTQ+ adolescents who reported being out to any family member about their LGBTQ+ identity; specifically, we tested a series of multivariable regression models to assess whether levels of LGBTQ+ specific family rejection attenuated the association between familial warmth and self-esteem.

RESULTS

Full sample models indicated a positive association between familial warmth and self-esteem. Findings from our sub-analysis indicated that familial warmth remained positively linked to self-esteem and family rejection was negatively associated with self-esteem. Family rejection was a statistically significant moderator, attenuating the association between familial warmth and self-esteem. With respect to being out about one's sexual orientation, these findings were robust across gender stratification groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Families of origin serve as sources of stress and resilience for LGBTQ+ adolescents. Our findings contribute support to arguments that familial warmth and LGBTQ+ specific rejection are not mutually-exclusive experiences among LGBTQ+ adolescents. We provide recommendations for multilevel interventions to leverage activities that support positive family dynamics and self-esteem among LGBTQ+ adolescents.

The Development of Multiple Self-Concept Dimensions During Adolescence

The purpose of this research was to analyze the development of self-concept during adolescence. Participants included 484 teenagers (226 boys and 258 girls) from middle-class families in the Basque Country region of Spain (M_age  = 14.99, SD = 1.81 in Time 1 and M_age  = 15.64, SD = 1.80 in Time 2). Longitudinal analysis found differences in the general school dimension. Six dimensions (math, verbal, general school, physical abilities, parent relationships and same-sex relationships) reported a linear trend with a decreasing monotonic pattern; self-esteem fit a cubic trend and physical appearance a quadratic trend line. Males showed higher means in self-esteem, math, physical abilities, physical appearance, emotional stability and parent relationships; and females had higher values in verbal and general school.

Self-esteem and oral health behavior in adolescents

This study investigated the mediation of self-esteem in adolescents' oral health behaviors. The Rosenberg self-esteem scale was used to assess self-esteem, whereas data from socio-demographic and behavior characteristics were analyzed by questions validated in previous surveys. The teenagers had good oral health behavior, except unhealthy diet. The number of adolescents with high self-esteem was a lot smaller than those with low self-esteem. The use of dental services, even when associated with high self-esteem, lost significance after being adjusted by sex, age and tooth brushing frequency. Nevertheless, multiple logistic regression analysis, using unadjusted estimates and adjusted with their respective Confidence Intervals of 95%, showed a relationship of self-esteem with age (p-value=0.001) and tooth brushing frequency (p-value=0.019). Regardless of the sex, students over 16 years old with high self-esteem brush their teeth more often, having probably better oral health. These results confirm the modulation of self-esteem in oral health, and then it is necessary the analysis and the use of these psychosocial factors in the young oral health care.

Development of Subjective Well-Being in Adolescence

Despite the importance of subjective well-being (SWB) for students' mental and physical health, there is a lack of longitudinal studies investigating the development of SWB in adolescents and what factors are associated with it over time. The present study seeks to shed further light on this question by investigating adolescents longitudinally. A sample of German academic tracks students (N = 476) from five schools were followed longitudinally over a time period of 30 months with four measurement points from Grade 11 to Grade 13. Alongside the longitudinal assessment of SWB (mood and life satisfaction), a range of other factors were also assessed at t1 including; demographic factors (sex, age, socio-economic status (HISEI)), intelligence, grades (report cards provided by the schools), personality (neuroticism, extraversion) and perceived parental expectations and support. Latent growth curve models were conducted to investigate the development of SWB and its correlates. On average, mood and life satisfaction improved at the end of mandatory schooling. However, students significantly differed in this pattern of change. Students' life satisfaction developed more positively if students had good grades at t1. Furthermore, even though introverted students started with lower life satisfaction at t1, extraverts' life showed greater increases over time. Changes in mood were associated with socio-economic background; the higher the HISEI the more positive the change. As social comparisons in school performance are almost inevitable, schools should intervene to buffer the influence of school grades on students' SWB.

Suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and psychological distress among intoxicated adolescents in the pediatric emergency department

BACKGROUND

Studies have emphasized screening for psychiatric disorders, especially suicide risk in emergency departments. Psychiatric disorders and experimentation with alcohol increase in adolescence and intoxications among patients challenge the staff in emergency departments.

AIMS

This study examined the degree of suicidal ideation (SI) and suicidal behavior in adolescents, and the extent to which they differed from non-suicidal patients in terms of alcohol use, psychological distress, self-esteem, and perceived social support.

METHODS

The study comprised 120 adolescents, a mean age of 14.2 years. Of them 60% were females. We collected data on the clinical characteristics and assessed the patient's psychiatric status using self-report scales and analyzed blood samples for alcohol. A consulting psychiatrist interviewed each patient before discharge to evaluate potential SI or suicide attempt (SA) using structured and semi-structured scales.

RESULTS

Of the 120 patients 20% had SI or had made a SA. High psychological distress in girls, low blood alcohol levels (BALs), as well as low scores on self-esteem, on social support and on familial support were associated with patients with SI/SA. Logistic regression showed that the most significant variables with suicidal patients included low BAL and low self-esteem and high alcohol consumption. Psychological distress had a direct and mediational role in the suicidal patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Adolescents referred to the pediatric emergency department with intoxication displaying high psychological distress and low self-esteem represent a high-risk group of teens. In this group, careful assessment of mental health status, screening for suicidal ideation, and SAs seems warranted.

Self-esteem and Body Mass Index from Adolescence to Mid-adulthood. A 26-year Follow-up

PURPOSE

This study examined the developmental trajectories of self-esteem and body mass index (BMI) from adolescence to mid-adulthood and the way the association between self-esteem and BMI changed during a 26-year follow-up.

METHODS

Participants of a Finnish cohort study in 1983 at 16 years (N = 2194) were followed up at ages 22 (N = 1656), 32 (N = 1471), and 42 (N = 1334) using postal questionnaires. Measures at each time point covered self-esteem and self-reported weight and height. Analyses were done using latent growth curve models (LGM) and difference scores.

RESULTS

In LGM analyses among females both the initial levels (r = -0.13) and slopes (r = -0.26) of the self-esteem and BMI trajectories correlated negatively. Among males, there were no significant correlations between self-esteem and BMI growth factors. The association between increasing BMI and decreasing self-esteem among females was strongest between ages 22 and 32 (r = -0.16), while among males, increases in BMI and self-esteem correlated positively (r = 0.11) during that period. Among females, cross-sectional correlations between self-esteem and BMI showed an increasing trend (p < 0.001) from age 16 (r = -0.07) to age 42 (r = -0.17), whereas among males negative correlation (r = -0.08) emerged only in mid-adulthood at age 42.

CONCLUSION

Among females, higher and increasing BMI is associated with lower and more slowly increasing self-esteem. This association is not restricted to adolescent years but persists and gets stronger in mid-adulthood. Among males, associations are weaker but indicate more age-related differences. The results highlight the need for interventions that tackle weight-related stigma and discrimination, especially among women with higher body weight and size.

Causal Effect of Self-esteem on Cigarette Smoking Stages in Adolescents: Coarsened Exact Matching in a Longitudinal Study

Objectives

Identification of the causal impact of self-esteem on smoking stages faces seemingly insurmountable problems in observational data, where self-esteem is not manipulable by the researcher and cannot be assigned randomly. The aim of this study was to find out if weaker self-esteem in adolescence is a risk factor of cigarette smoking in a longitudinal study in Iran.

Methods

In this longitudinal study, 4,853 students (14–18 years) completed a self-administered multiple-choice anonym questionnaire. The students were evaluated twice, 12 months apart. Students were matched based on coarsened exact matching on pretreatment variables, including age, gender, smoking stages at the first wave of study, socioeconomic status, general risk-taking behavior, having a smoker in the family, having a smoker friend, attitude toward smoking, and self-injury, to ensure statistically equivalent comparison groups. Self-esteem was measured using the Rosenberg 10-item questionnaire and were classified using a latent class analysis. After matching, the effect of self-esteem was evaluated using a multinomial logistic model.

Results

In the causal fitted model, for adolescents with weaker self-esteem relative to those with stronger self-esteem, the relative risk for experimenters and regular smokers relative to nonsmokers would be expected to increase by a factor of 2.2 (1.9–2.6) and 2.0 (1.5–2.6), respectively.

Conclusion

Using a causal approach, our study indicates that low self-esteem is consistently associated with progression in cigarette smoking stages.

Interpersonal Conflicts and Development of Self-Esteem from Adolescence to Mid-Adulthood. A 26-Year Follow-Up

This study investigated the association between interpersonal conflicts and the trajectory of self-esteem from adolescence to mid-adulthood. The directionality of effects between self-esteem and interpersonal conflicts was also studied. Participants of a Finnish cohort study in 1983 at age 16 (N = 2194) were followed up at ages 22 (N = 1656), 32 (N = 1471) and 42 (N = 1334) using postal questionnaires. Measures covered self-esteem and interpersonal conflicts including, conflicts with parents, friends, colleagues, superiors, partners, break-ups with girl/boyfriends, and divorces. Participants were grouped using latent profile analysis to those having “consistently low”, “decreasing”, or “increasing” number of interpersonal conflicts from adolescence to adulthood. Analyses were done using latent growth curve models and autoregressive cross-lagged models. Among both females and males the self-esteem growth trajectory was most favorable in the group with a consistently low number of interpersonal conflicts. Compared to the low group, the group with a decreasing number of interpersonal conflicts had a self-esteem trajectory that started and remained at a lower level throughout the study period. The group with an increasing number of interpersonal conflicts had a significantly slower self-esteem growth rate compared to the other groups, and also the lowest self-esteem level at the end of the study period. Cross-lagged autoregressive models indicated small, but significant lagged effects from low self-esteem to later interpersonal conflicts, although only among males. There were no effects to the opposite direction among either gender. Our results show that those reporting more and an increasing number of interpersonal conflicts have a lower and more slowly developing self-esteem trajectory from adolescence to mid-adulthood. While the result was expected, it does not seem to imply an effect from interpersonal conflicts to low self-esteem. Rather, if anything, our results seem to suggest that those with low self-esteem are more prone to later interpersonal conflicts.

Addressing challenges of validity and internal consistency of mental health measures in a 27- year longitudinal cohort study - the Northern Swedish Cohort study

Background

There are inherent methodological challenges in the measurement of mental health problems in longitudinal research. There is constant development in definitions, taxonomies and demands concerning the properties of mental health measurements. The aim of this paper was to construct composite measures of mental health problems (according to today’s standard) from single questionnaire items devised in the early 1980s, and to evaluate their internal consistency and factorial invariance across the life course using the Northern Swedish Cohort.

Methods

All pupils in the last year of compulsory school in Luleå in 1981 (n = 1083) form a prospective cohort study where the participants have been followed with questionnaires from the age of 16 (in 1981) until the age of 43 (in 2008). We created and tested the following composite measures from self-reports at each follow-up: depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, functional somatic symptoms, modified GHQ and positive health. Validity and internal consistency were tested by confirmatory factor analysis, including tests of factorial invariance over time.

Results

As an overall assessment, the results showed that the composite measures (based on more than 30-year-old single item questions) are likely to have acceptable factorial invariance as well as internal consistency over time.

Conclusions

Testing the properties of the mental health measures used in older studies according to the standards of today is of great importance in longitudinal research. Our study demonstrates that composite measures of mental health problems can be constructed from single items which are more than 30 years old and that these measures seem to have the same factorial structure and internal consistency across a significant part of the life course. Thus, it can be possible to overcome some specific inherent methodological challenges in using historical data in longitudinal research.