Self-esteem in young men: A longitudinal analysis of the impact of educational and occupational attainment

Work Experiences and Self-Esteem Development: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies

Theory suggests that people’s work experiences influence their self-esteem and, vice versa, that self-esteem influences work experiences. This meta-analysis of longitudinal studies synthesizes the available evidence on prospective effects between work experiences and self-esteem, controlling for prior levels of the outcomes. The following work variables were examined: job satisfaction, job success, income, job resources, job stressors, and employment status. The analyses were based on 30 independent samples, including data from 53,112 participants. Mean age ranged from 17 to 64 years, spanning most of the work life. For each work variable, we computed random-effects models with standardized regression coefficients as effect size measure. Results suggested reciprocal effects between work experiences and self-esteem. The effects of self-esteem on later work experiences (point estimates ranged from .05 to .10) were slightly larger than the effects of work experiences on later self-esteem (point estimates ranged from .02 to .05). Moderator analyses on the relation between job satisfaction and self-esteem indicated that the effects did not differ across age, gender, sample type, and time lag. Overall, the findings support the corresponsive principle of personality development and suggest that the work domain and people’s self-esteem are interdependent.

Maths attitudes, school affect and teacher characteristics as predictors of maths attainment trajectories in primary and secondary education

Maths attainment is essential for a wide range of outcomes relating to further education, careers, health and the wider economy. Research suggests a significant proportion of adults and adolescents are underachieving in maths within the UK, making this a key area for research. This study investigates the role of children's perceptions of the school climate (children's affect towards school and student-teacher relationships), their attitudes towards maths and teacher characteristics as predictors of maths attainment trajectories, taking the transition from primary to secondary education into consideration. Two growth models were fit using secondary data analysis of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). The first model, which looked at predictors of maths attainment in primary education, found significant associations only between positive maths attitudes and increased maths attainment. The second model, which looked at predictors of maths attainment in secondary education, found significant associations between increased maths attainment and positive maths attitudes, decreased school belonging, positive student-teacher relationships and increased teacher fairness. The findings suggest that the secondary education school environment is particularly important for maths attainment.

Examining the role of therapists' empathy and clients' attachment styles on changes in clients' affect regulation and outcome in the treatment of depression

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test whether changes in clients' affect regulation capacity (AR) mediated the impact of therapists' empathy on outcome and whether this relationship was stronger for more insecurely than securely attached clients. Method: The data set included 66 clients, who had participated in 16 weeks of either CBT or EFT for depression. Clients' AR was assessed using an observer and a self-report measure. Results: Changes in AR significantly mediated the relationship between therapists' empathy and outcome for depression, dysfunctional attitudes and self-esteem but not interpersonal problems, and changes in AR were moderated by clients' insecure attachment styles. Conclusions: The findings provide support for therapists' empathy as an active ingredient of change contributing to changes in clients' affect regulation capacities and emphasize the importance of assessing clients' attachment styles so that therapists can be more responsive and effectively tailor their treatments to fit the needs of individual clients.

Achievement goals and life satisfaction: the mediating role of perception of successful agency and the moderating role of emotion reappraisal

Achievement goals are cognitive representations that guide behavior to a competence-related future end state. Existing theories and empirical findings suggest that achievement goals are potentially related to life satisfaction. However, the relationship between achievement goals and life satisfaction remains relatively unexplored in the psychology literature. In this study, we examined how, why, and when achievement goals affect life satisfaction using original survey data from China. The results suggest that achievement goals were positively related to life satisfaction (R2 = .20, 90% CI [.11, .26]), that the perception of successful agency fully mediated the relationship between achievement goals and life satisfaction (R2 = .22, 90% CI [.12, .27]), and that emotion reappraisal moderated the relationship between achievement goals and life satisfaction (R2 = .34, 90% CI [.23, .39]). Our study indicates that achievement goals have a positive influence on life satisfaction and help to elucidate the mechanism and boundary condition of this influence.

Anxiety disorders, gender nonconformity, bullying and self-esteem in sexual minority adolescents: prospective birth cohort study

BACKGROUND

Sexual minority adolescents (i.e. youth not exclusively heterosexual) report more anxiety than heterosexual youth on symptom questionnaires but no research has used standardised diagnostic tools to investigate anxiety disorder risk. This study uses a UK birth cohort to investigate the risk of anxiety disorders in sexual minority and heterosexual youth using a computerised structured clinical interview and explores the influence of gender nonconformity, bullying and self-esteem.

METHODS

Participants were 4,564 adolescents (2,567 girls and 1,996 boys) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Logistic regression analyses were performed to investigate the association between sexual orientation at 15.5 years and the presence of an anxiety disorder at 17.5 years. Covariates including maternal occupation, ethnicity, mother-reported childhood gender nonconformity at 30, 42 and 57 months, child-reported gender nonconformity at 8 years, child-reported bullying between 12 and 16 years and self-esteem at 17.5 years were added sequentially to regression models.

RESULTS

Sexual minority adolescents (i.e. those not exclusively heterosexual) had higher early childhood gender nonconformity (CGN), lower self-esteem and reported more bullying than adolescents identifying as 100% heterosexual. Minority sexual orientation at 15.5 years was associated with increased risk of an anxiety disorder at 17.5 years for girls (OR 2.55, CI 1.85-3.52) and boys (OR 2.48, CI 1.40-4.39). Adjusting for ethnicity, maternal occupation, mother-reported and child-reported CGN had minimal impact on this association. Adjusting for bullying between 12 and 16 years and self-esteem at 17.5 years reduced the strength of the associations, although the overall association remained significant for both sexes (girls OR 2.14 and boys OR 1.93).

CONCLUSIONS

Sexual minority youth are at increased risk of anxiety disorders relative to heterosexual youth at 17.5 years. Bullying between 12-16 years and lower self-esteem may contribute to this risk.

Impact of demographic variables on women's economic empowerment: An ordered probit model

The present study aimed to empirically examine the demographic variables that determine women's economic empowerment. A sample of 500 married women between 21 and 49 years old (M_age = 35.49, SD = 7.66) was conveniently selected from district Multan (Pakistan). Control over economic resources was used as a proxy for women's economic empowerment. Ordered probit regression was run to assess the demographic determinants (i.e., age, education, paid job, income, and property) of economic empowerment of the least empowered, moderately empowered, and highly empowered women. Paid job, age, income, and property appeared as positive and significant predictors of women's economic empowerment. Implications of the study were also discussed.

Age and Birth Cohort Differences in Self-Esteem: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis

A meta-analytic review finds that college students' self-esteem increased substantially between 1968 and 1994 when measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). Children's scores on the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) show a curvilinear pattern over time, decreasing from 1965 to 1979 and increasing from 1980 to 1993. Children's SEI scores are directly correlated with social statistics (e.g., divorce rate, unemployment) for the corresponding years. Analyses for age differences find that SEI scores decrease slightly during the transition from elementary school to junior high and then rise progressively through high school and college. RSE scores increase steadily with age. Results are discussed in terms of the antecedents of self-esteem, including social acceptance, competencies, and the culture of self-worth.

Effects of Living Status, Gender, and Year in College on College Students' Self-Esteem and Life-Change Experiences

The effects of living status, gender, and years of college were examined in a study measuring self-esteem and life-change experiences. 160 naive college students were placed into 16 groups of 10 based on their living status, gender, and year in school. It was proposed that boarders would have higher self-esteem and a larger number of life change events, that women would have lower self-esteem than men, and that the freshmen would have lower self-esteem and experience more life-change events. Two three-way analyses of variance showed men had higher self-esteem than women, and freshmen had lower self-esteem than seniors. Boarders reported more life-change events than freshmen. A negative correlation was found between self-esteem and life-change events. Stress seems related to the value one places on oneself.

Dieting in Moderation

This study demonstrates the substantial conceptual consequences in distinguishing a variable’s role as a moderator as opposed to a mediator. In particular, the study investigates the role of dietary restraint in the relationship between body dissatisfaction and psychological well-being. Path analyses showed that, in addition to its mediating role, dietary restraint has a moderating role, such that there is a stronger relationship between body dissatisfaction and psychological well-being when dietary restraint is high than when dietary restraint is low. In contrast, gender had only a direct effect on weight dissatisfaction. It was concluded that the same processes occur for both men and for women, whereby it is the individuals who diet who suffer loss of psychological well-being.

Perceived Retrospective Change of Self among the Middle-Aged in the Kibbutz

Self-appraisals of retrospective change were obtained from 100 middle-aged persons, members of 10 preselected kibbutzim. With reference to 32 self-attributes, respondents indicated the direction and amount of change they perceived in themselves, compared to what they were like 10 years ago. Most respondents perceived little or no change: the transition to middle age evidently has not disrupted their sense of continuity. A summary score of the absolute amount of change reported for the 32 items demonstrated a high level of internal consistency. Regression analyses of this summary score revealed that (a) the lower the amount of reported change, the higher the level of both self-perceived adjustment and adjustment as rated by peers; (b) minimal perceived change of self characterizes individuals who joined the kibbutz at an earlier age and had more formal education. Respondents tended to evaluate changes in themselves as being positive. Implications for studies of the sense of continuity during the life span were discussed.

The Death of the Feel-Good Factor?

The role of self-esteem in academic achievement has been one of the most controversial issues in educational psychology in recent years. A recent research review in this area has suggested that there is little evidence that self-esteem influences achievement in any meaningful way (Baumeister et al., 2003). However, there is considerable evidence to suggest that positive self-esteem should be pursued by educators as an important outcome in itself. This article examines the key issues and research findings in this important debate, and provides some insight as to the wider role of self-esteem in the facilitation of inclusive educational practices. It is suggested that whilst self-esteem plays an important role in the education system, practitioners need to be cautious in their approach to making children feel valued and worthy.

Multiple Dimensions of Adolescent Self-Concept

This study was designed to determine (a) age and gender variations in the multiple areas of self-concept, and (b) relations between these dimensions of self-concept and scholastic measures. The samples comprised 274 students attending three co-educational high schools in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa. Although a few statistically significant effects of age and gender on global and domainspecific self-concepts were found, the differences appeared to be of little qualitative significance. The size and pattern of relations with scholastic measures was weak. However, further investigations from an African context are necessary to provide additional support for the claim that self-concepts are minimally influenced by human conditions such as age and gender and that relationships between various facets of self-concept and measures of academic achievement are weak.

Does High Self-Esteem Cause Better Performance, Interpersonal Success, Happiness, or Healthier Lifestyles?

Self-esteem has become a household word. Teachers, parents, therapists, and others have focused efforts on boosting self-esteem, on the assumption that high self-esteem will cause many positive outcomes and benefits—an assumption that is critically evaluated in this review.

Appraisal of the effects of self-esteem is complicated by several factors. Because many people with high self-esteem exaggerate their successes and good traits, we emphasize objective measures of outcomes. High self-esteem is also a heterogeneous category, encompassing people who frankly accept their good qualities along with narcissistic, defensive, and conceited individuals.

The modest correlations between self-esteem and school performance do not indicate that high self-esteem leads to good performance. Instead, high self-esteem is partly the result of good school performance. Efforts to boost the self-esteem of pupils have not been shown to improve academic performance and may sometimes be counterproductive. Job performance in adults is sometimes related to self-esteem, although the correlations vary widely, and the direction of causality has not been established. Occupational success may boost self-esteem rather than the reverse. Alternatively, self-esteem may be helpful only in some job contexts. Laboratory studies have generally failed to find that self-esteem causes good task performance, with the important exception that high self-esteem facilitates persistence after failure.

People high in self-esteem claim to be more likable and attractive, to have better relationships, and to make better impressions on others than people with low self-esteem, but objective measures disconfirm most of these beliefs. Narcissists are charming at first but tend to alienate others eventually. Self-esteem has not been shown to predict the quality or duration of relationships.

High self-esteem makes people more willing to speak up in groups and to criticize the group's approach. Leadership does not stem directly from self-esteem, but self-esteem may have indirect effects. Relative to people with low self-esteem, those with high self-esteem show stronger in-group favoritism, which may increase prejudice and discrimination.

Neither high nor low self-esteem is a direct cause of violence. Narcissism leads to increased aggression in retaliation for wounded pride. Low self-esteem may contribute to externalizing behavior and delinquency, although some studies have found that there are no effects or that the effect of self-esteem vanishes when other variables are controlled. The highest and lowest rates of cheating and bullying are found in different subcategories of high self-esteem.

Self-esteem has a strong relation to happiness. Although the research has not clearly established causation, we are persuaded that high self-esteem does lead to greater happiness. Low self-esteem is more likely than high to lead to depression under some circumstances. Some studies support the buffer hypothesis, which is that high self-esteem mitigates the effects of stress, but other studies come to the opposite conclusion, indicating that the negative effects of low self-esteem are mainly felt in good times. Still others find that high self-esteem leads to happier outcomes regardless of stress or other circumstances.

High self-esteem does not prevent children from smoking, drinking, taking drugs, or engaging in early sex. If anything, high self-esteem fosters experimentation, which may increase early sexual activity or drinking, but in general effects of self-esteem are negligible. One important exception is that high self-esteem reduces the chances of bulimia in females.

Overall, the benefits of high self-esteem fall into two categories: enhanced initiative and pleasant feelings. We have not found evidence that boosting self-esteem (by therapeutic interventions or school programs) causes benefits. Our findings do not support continued widespread efforts to boost self-esteem in the hope that it will by itself foster improved outcomes. In view of the heterogeneity of high self-esteem, indiscriminate praise might just as easily promote narcissism, with its less desirable consequences. Instead, we recommend using praise to boost self-esteem as a reward for socially desirable behavior and self-improvement.

Reciprocal Effects of Self-Concept and Performance From a Multidimensional Perspective: Beyond Seductive Pleasure and Unidimensional Perspectives

We (Marsh & Craven, 1997) have claimed that academic self-concept and achievement are mutually reinforcing, each leading to gains in the other. Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger, and Vohs (2003) have claimed that self-esteem has no benefits beyond seductive pleasure and may even be detrimental to subsequent performance. Integrating these seemingly contradictory conclusions, we distinguish between (a) older, unidimensional perspectives that focus on global self-esteem and underpin the Baumeister et al. review and (b) more recent, multidimensional perspectives that focus on specific components of self-concept and are the basis of our claim. Supporting the construct validity of a multidimensional perspective, studies show that academic achievement is substantially related to academic self-concept, but nearly unrelated to self-esteem. Consistent with this distinction, research based on our reciprocal-effects model (REM) and a recent meta-analysis show that prior academic self-concept (as opposed to self-esteem) and achievement both have positive effects on subsequent self-concept and achievement. We provide an overview of new support for the generality of the REM for young children, cross-cultural research in non-Western countries, health (physical activity), and nonelite (gymnastics) and elite (international swimming championships) sport. We conclude that future reviews elucidating the significant implications of self-concept for theory, policy, and practice need to account for current research supporting the REM and a multidimensional perspective of self-concept.

A Theory of Productive Activity: The Relationships Among Self-Concept, Gender, Sex Role Stereotypes, and Work-Emergent Traits

A theoretical framework is presented that focuses on the division of labor by gender to account for both sex role stereotypes and the correspondence between these stereotypes and the self-concepts of women and men. According to this framework, the self-images of adults are largely constituted by attributes generated by their productive activity. These attributes, referred to as work-emergent traits, are consequences of working within particular social and physical conditions of production because they help individuals to perform work tasks and to regulate their emotional responses to the stressors attendant upon their work roles. Because of sexual segregation in the work force, certain traits have been generalized to all women and to all men, appearing as sex role stereotypes. Although the sexual division of labor is the root cause of stereotypical beliefs regarding the attributes of women and men, the beliefs themselves also sustain the division of labor. Suggestive pilot data, which provide initial substantiation for this theoretical perspective, are briefly discussed.

Gender Differences in Internal Beliefs About Weight and Negative Attitudes Towards Self and Others

Previous research has found that people with an internal weight locus of control (beliefs in self-control over weight) are more likely to join and stay in weight-loss programs and have higher self-esteem than those who have an external locus of control (e.g., belief that weight is due to luck, genes). There has been no research on how weight locus of control affects the self-esteem of people who are not average weight or not satisfied with their weight. The present study predicted that for people who are overweight, weight locus of control would be negatively related to self-esteem. The results confirmed this interaction between weight locus of control and weight on self-esteem for women, but not for men. The second prediction was that internal weight locus of control would have negative social consequences in terms of greater negative stereotyping of obese people, and this was also confirmed for women. Because weight loss is rarely permanent, it would seem important to change people's attitudes about the lack of control that they (and others) have over body weight.

Decline in physical activity during adolescence is not associated with changes in mental health

Background

The majority of studies investigating associations between physical activity and mental health in adolescents have been cross-sectional in design. Potential associations between physical activity and mental health may be better examined longitudinally as physical activity levels tend to decrease in adolescence. Few studies have investigated these associations longitudinally in adolescents and none by measuring physical activity objectively.

Methods

A total of 158 Dutch adolescents (mean age 13.6 years, 38.6 % boys, grades 7 and 9 at baseline) participated in this longitudinal study. Physical activity, depressive symptoms and self-esteem were measured at baseline and at the 1-year follow-up. Physical activity was objectively measured with an ActivPAL3™ accelerometer during one full week. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and self-esteem was assessed with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE). Results were analysed using structural equation modelling.

Results

Physical activity levels decreased 15.3 % over a 1-year period (p < .001), with significantly (p = .001) greater decreases during grade 7 (-20.7 %) than during grade 9 (-5.0 %). Overall, depressive symptoms decreased (-12.1 %, p < .001) over a 1-year period, while self-esteem did not change significantly (+2.9 %, p = .066). Higher levels of depressive symptoms at baseline predicted a greater decline in depressive symptoms (β = -.51, p < .001) and higher levels of self-esteem at baseline predicted a smaller increase in self-esteem (β = -.48, p < .001). The decline in physical activity did not appear to predict any change in depressive symptoms and self-esteem.

Conclusion

The decline in physical activity over a 1-year period during adolescence is not associated with a change in mental health. Further studies in adolescents aiming to investigate whether a change in physical activity is associated with a change in mental health should control for baseline levels of mental health and academic year differences.

Narrative Performance Predicts Psychopathology: A Preliminary Demonstration

Abstract The goals of this study were: (a) to test whether objective narrative variables can be reliably applied to commonly used clinical assessment tasks, (b) to assess the relative stability and differences in mean levels of narrative performance in participants' stories across assessment tasks, and (c) to assess the degree to which levels of psychopathology can be predicted by objective narrative measures. Stories were elicited from 31 substance abuse patients using 4 different narrative tasks. The 124 stories were coded using 5 measures that assess levels of structural connectedness, subjectivity, and complexity. Results, based on the reliably coded narrative measures, indicated that (a) participants displayed stable individual differences, whereas mean performance levels varied systematically across the story-elicitation tasks; and (b) a substantial amount of variance in depressive, anxious, and cognitive mediation symptoms could be predicted using these measures. Results are discussed in terms of the need to further develop objective measures of narrative performance and narrative assessment tasks. (Psychology)

Personality, behavior and environmental features associated with OXTR genetic variants in British mothers

BACKGROUND

It is assumed that the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is associated with factors that are related to features of reproduction as well as the currently emerging fields of mood and emotional response.

METHODS

We analysed data from over 8000 mothers who participated in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). We determined reproductive, emotional and personality differences related to the two SNPs rs53576 and rs2254298 of the oxytocin receptor gene to determine whether there was evidence in this population for: (i) associations with emotional and personality differences, and (ii) behavioural or environmental links with these SNPs using a hypothesis free approach with over 1000 types of exposure.

RESULTS

Our analyses of 7723 women showed that there were no differences in 11 mood, social or relationship characteristics associated with the rs2254298, and just one with rs53576 (with emotional loneliness)--one statistically significant out of 22 tests is no more than would be expected by chance. There were no interactions with childhood abuse. Using a hypothesis-free approach we found few indicators of environmental or behavioural differences associated with rs2254298, but there was an excess of associations with eating habits with rs53576. The findings included an association with dieting to lose weight, and habits typical of bulimia for the women with GG. The nutrition of the women also showed negative associations of the GG genotype with 13 nutrients, including vitamins D, B12 and retinol, and intake of calcium, potassium and iodine.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that this large database of pregnant women was unable to provide confirmation of the types of personality associated with these two OXTR SNPs, but we have shown some evidence of eating differences in those with GG on rs53576. Confirmation of our hypothesis free associations using other data sets is important.

Heterosexual involvement of unmarried under-graduate females in relation to self-evaluations

It was hypothesized that a higher degree of heterosexual involvement among unmarried female undergraduates would be associated with more positive self-evaluations. This idea was investigated among 79 college women tested as freshmen, and again as sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Self-esteem, ratings of physical attractiveness, ratings of future marriage, and seriousness about boyfriend increased over the years, while number of different men dated declined. All participants except 2 had dates with men, and 80% reported having a steady boyfriend in one year or another. Participants expected both to marry and to have a career, and showed courtship progress during the college years. Those with greater heterosexual involvement, as indicated by frequency of dating and having a steady boyfriend, were more serious about their boyfriends, showed higher self-evaluations, were more sure of marrying, and expected to marry at a younger age. Cross-lagged correlations, although suggestive, did not provide clear evidence about antecedent-consequent relations between heterosexual involvement and self-evaluations.

The role of empathy in promoting change

Since Rogers identified empathy as an important variable in therapy, it has been found to be a consistent predictor of client change; less clear is how this occurs. The objective in this study was to test a mediation model to determine whether clients' self-reported experience of therapists' empathy contributed to changes in their attachment styles and treatment of self, after 16 weeks of psychotherapy for depression. There was a significant direct relationship between therapists' empathy and outcome and a significant indirect effect, showing that clients' perceptions of therapists' empathy was associated with significant improvement in attachment insecurity and significant decreases in negative self-treatment at the end of therapy as well as reductions on BDI, IIP, DAS and SCL-90-R, GSI, and increases on RSE. The findings suggest that clients' perception of their therapists as empathic is an important mechanism of change in psychotherapy that warrants further investigation.

Academic self-concept and academic achievement: relations and causal ordering

BACKGROUND. A positive self-concept is valued as a desirable outcome in many disciplines of psychology as well as an important mediator to other outcomes. AIMS. The present review examines support for the reciprocal effects model (REM) that posits academic self-concept (ASC) and achievement are mutually reinforcing, each leading to gains in the other - and its extension to other achievement domains. METHOD. We review theoretical, methodological, and empirical support for the REM. Critical features in this research are a theoretical emphasis on multidimensional perspectives that focus on specific components of self-concept and a methodological focus on a construct validity approach to evaluating the REM. RESULTS. Consistent with these distinctions, REM research and a comprehensive meta-analysis show that prior ASC has direct and indirect effects on subsequent achievement, whilst the effects of self-esteem and other non-academic components of self-concept are negligible. We then provide an overview of subsequent support for the generality of the REM for: young children, cross-cultural, health (physical activity), and non-elite (gymnastics) and elite (international swimming championships) sport. CONCLUSION. This research is important in demonstrating that increases in ASC lead to increases in subsequent academic achievement and other desirable educational outcomes. Findings confirm that not only is self-concept an important outcome variable in itself, it also plays a central role in affecting other desirable educational outcomes. Implications for educational practice are discussed.

Adolescent Self-Esteem: Differences by Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Age

Large-scale representative surveys of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students in the United States show high self-esteem scores for all groups. African-American students score highest, Whites score slightly higher than Hispanics, and Asian Americans score lowest. Males score slightly higher than females. Multivariate controls for grades and college plans actually heighten these race/ethnic/gender differences. A truncated scoring method, designed to counter race/ethnic differences in extreme response style, reduced but did not eliminate the subgroup differences. Age differences in self-esteem are modest, with 12th graders reporting the highest scores. The findings are highly consistent across 18 annual surveys from 1991 through 2008, and self-esteem scores show little overall change during that period.

Shopping for clothes: Body satisfaction, appearance investment, and functions of clothing among female shoppers

The present study aimed to investigate the link between clothing and body experience in women of different ages. Participants were 162 female clothes shoppers between the ages of 18 and 55 who completed questionnaire measures of body image, functions of clothing, self-esteem, and enjoyment of clothes shopping. It was found that clothing was worn primarily for assurance and fashion by women of all ages. On the other hand, BMI and body dissatisfaction were related to the use of clothing for camouflage purposes and to a more negative clothes shopping experience. Both components of appearance investment were related to choice of clothes for fashion and assurance. However, the self-evaluative salience component was negatively related, while the motivational salience was positively related, to enjoyment of clothes shopping. It was concluded that although clothing is an under-researched aspect of body image, it represents an important part of women's appearance management, whatever their age.

Reciprocal Effects Between Academic Self-Concept, Self-Esteem, Achievement, and Attainment Over Seven Adolescent Years: Unidimensional and Multidimensional Perspectives of Self-Concept

In their influential review, Baumeister, Campbell, Krueger, and Vohs (2003) concluded that self-esteem— the global component of self-concept—has no effect on subsequent academic performance. In contrast, Marsh and Craven's (2006) review of reciprocal effects models from an explicitly multidimensional perspective demonstrated that academic self-concept and achievement are both a cause and an effect of each other. Ironically, both reviews cited classic Youth in Transition studies in support of their respective claims. In definitive tests of these counter claims, the authors reanalyze these data—including self-esteem (emphasized by Baumeister et al.), academic self-concept (emphasized by Marsh & Craven), and postsecondary educational attainment—using stronger statistical methods based on five waves of data (grade 10 through 5 years after graduation; N = 2,213). Integrating apparently discrepant findings under a common theoretical framework based on a multidimensional perspective, academic self-concept had consistent reciprocal effects with both achievement and educational attainment, whereas self-esteem had almost none.

Year in College and Sorority Membership in Predicting Self-Esteem of a Sample of College Women

The empirical base for judging whether fraternity membership may be associated with higher self-esteem of college women as well as men is not strong and does not extend beyond the freshman year. This study was done to examine the relations among year in college, sorority membership, and self-esteem. Senior women reported highest scores on self-esteem. Members of sororities did not have a higher mean self-esteem than those who were not. No significant interaction between year in college and sorority membership was noted.