Self-esteem mediates the associations among negative affect, body disturbances, and interpersonal problems in treatment-seeking obese individuals

Background: This study investigated the relationship among negative affect, body image disturbances (BID), and interpersonal problems, and the mediating effect of self-esteem in a group of treatment-seeking obese individuals. Methods: Four hundred twenty-two obese patients (85 males and 337 females) completed standardised measures that assessed negative affect, BID, self-esteem, and interpersonal problems. Results: Structural equation modelling showed that obese individuals with greater negative affect and BID reported higher interpersonal problems and that self-esteem mediated the relationships among negative affect, BID, and interpersonal problems. Conclusions: The mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between interpersonal functioning and psychological distress needs to be considered when selecting psychologically based interventions that aim to improve the well-being of treatment-seeking obese patients. © 2014 The Australian Psychological Society.

Does body satisfaction influence self-esteem in adolescents' daily lives? An experience sampling study

This study examined, within the context of the Contingencies of Self-Worth model, state-based associations between self-esteem and body satisfaction using the experience sampling method. One hundred and forty-four adolescent girls (mean age = 14.28 years) completed up to 6 assessments per day for one week using Palm Digital Assistants, in addition to baseline measures of trait body satisfaction and self-esteem. Results showed considerable variation in both state-based constructs within days, and evidence of effects of body satisfaction on self-esteem, but not vice versa. Although these state-based associations were small in size and weakened as the time lag between assessments increased for the sample as a whole, individual differences in the magnitude of these effects were observed and predicted by trait self-esteem and body satisfaction. Collectively, these findings offer support for key tenets of the Contingencies of Self-Worth model.

Maternal depressive and anxiety symptoms, self-esteem, body dissatisfaction and preschooler obesity: a cross-sectional study

The primary aim of the present study was to cross-sectionally examine the associations between maternal psychosocial variables, child feeding practices, and preschooler body mass index z-score (BMI-z) in children (aged 2–4 years). A secondary aim was to examine differences in child weight outcomes between mothers scoring above and below specified cut-offs on the psychosocial measures. Two hundred and ninety mother–child dyads were recruited from Melbourne, Australia, and completed questionnaires examining demographic information, mothers’ depressive and anxiety symptoms, self-esteem and body dissatisfaction, restrictive and pressure child feeding practices, and preschoolers’ BMI-z scores. Independent t-tests and hierarchical multiple regression were employed to analyse the data. In the final regression model, none of the maternal psychosocial measures or feeding practices predicted child BMI-z scores; maternal body mass index and employment status were the only predictors of preschooler BMI-z. However, independent t-tests revealed that children of mothers with elevated body dissatisfaction scores had significantly higher BMI-z scores than children of mothers without elevated scores. The results suggest that psychosocial variables are not related, cross-sectionally, to preschooler weight outcomes; however, further research is needed to replicate the group differences noted between mothers with and without body dissatisfaction, and to track these relationships longitudinally.

The Effects of Self-Esteem and Expectancies for Success on Affective Reactions to Achievement

Affective reactions to academic performance appear to be influenced by performance outcome, self-esteem, and causal attributions. We investigated whether expectancies for success and the confirmation or disconfirmation of epectancies also influenced students' affective reactions and causal attributions in achievement settings. Subjects were 132 university students. Causal attributions and affective reactions to an achievement-related situation were assessed and related to students' self-esteem, expectancies for success, and confirmation or disconfirmation of expectancies. Results indicated that causal attributions were related to confirmation or disconfirmation of expectancies for success and to self-esteem. Affective reactions were related to the interaction of self-esteem, expectancies for success, and confirmation or disconfirmation of expectancies. Further analysis suggested that students' affective reactions to performance may serve to maintain existing levels of self-esteem. The role of self-referent and other-referent emotions in self-esteem maintenance was also discussed.

The role of self-esteem in affective reactions to achievement-related situations

Investigated whether affective reactions in achievement settings were related to self-esteem in 308 undergraduates. Ss completed a self-esteem questionnaire and an affect questionnaire in which achievement outcomes and causal sources were manipulated within a short-story format. Affective reactions to various academic situations portrayed in the stories then were assessed and related to Ss' self-esteem. Resulting biserial correlations between the dichotomized affective reactions and self-esteem indicate that affective reactions to success and failure were related to Ss' level of self-esteem. An extrapolation from the present results and related research is that causal internalization with resulting self-referent affects may be facilitated by providing academic feedback consistent with self-esteem.

Mating Intelligence, Self-Esteem, Self-Perceived Attractiveness, And Partner Choice

The present research was conducted in two studies. The first study examined how mating intelligence, self-esteem, and self-perceived attractiveness are related to each other. The second study examined how these three constructs relate to partner choice. It was hypothesized that participants who score high on mating intelligence will also score high on self-esteem and self-perceived attractiveness. Furthermore, those that score high on self-esteem will also score high on self-perceived attractiveness. It was expected that the results would be more significant for women than for men. For the second study, it was hypothesized that participants who score high on all three constructs will be more likely to select the attractive partner. The results did not show a significant interaction between mating intelligence, self-esteem, and self-perceived attractiveness. They also did not indicate higher significance levels for women. However, there were significant effects between the constructs. Additionally, participants with an average or a high score on mating intelligence were more likely to select the attractive partner.

The Resilience of Self-Esteem in Late Adulthood

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined the resilience of self-esteem after loss in the lives of older adults. Specifically, the authors investigated the relationship between loss and change in self-esteem during a 3-year period. METHOD: A subsample of older adults (n = 1,278) from the Americans' Changing Lives Study was used to examine loss in the domains of health, financial security, or work and career and self-esteem before and after the loss. RESULTS: There was a small but significant decrease in self-esteem between Wave I and Wave II of the study. Loss in one of the domains explained less than 1% of the variance in self-esteem change. DISCUSSION: The low incidence of loss and small change in high levels of self-esteem are further evidence of resilience in older adults' psychological well-being. The implications for older adults' use of cognitive strategies to manage losses and promote gains are discussed.

Low self-esteem prospectively predicts depression in adolescence and young adulthood

Low self-esteem and depression are strongly correlated in cross-sectional studies, yet little is known about their prospective effects on each other. The vulnerability model hypothesizes that low self-esteem serves as a risk factor for depression, whereas the scar model hypothesizes that low self-esteem is an outcome, not a cause, of depression. To test these models, the authors used 2 large longitudinal data sets, each with 4 repeated assessments between the ages of 15 and 21 years and 18 and 21 years, respectively. Cross-lagged regression analyses indicated that low self-esteem predicted subsequent levels of depression, but depression did not predict subsequent levels of self-esteem. These findings held for both men and women and after controlling for content overlap between the self-esteem and depression scales. Thus, the results supported the vulnerability model, but not the scar model, of self-esteem and depression.