Relationship between self-esteem and psychological health

This thesis examines the relationship between self-esteem and psychological health. In Chapter 1, I define self-esteem and psychological health, illustrate the prominence of these two psychological constructs, and review the literature on the relation between self-esteem and psychological health. As we will see, self-esteem can be defined as one's overall evaluation as a person, and psychological health can be defined as the absence of depression, anxiety, and negative affect together with the presence of life satisfaction and positive affect. Further, we will see that self-esteem and psychological health are among the most frequently researched psychological constructs. Thus, the corpus of research on the relationship between self-esteem and psychological health is massive. Nonetheless, the nature and dynamics of this relationship are complex and far from being fully understood. The empirical research presented in this thesis helps to better understand this relationship. To this end, I have conducted three empirical lines of research. The three lines of research approach the same overarching goal from three very different angles. In the first empirical chapter (Chapter 2), I report a line of research in which my collaborators and I studied the impact of one facet of psychological health - i.e., chronic mood - on self-esteem when recalling positive and negative past selves. In four studies, we found that chronically happy people assimilated towards a recalled positive self and contrasted away from a recalled negative self, which in both cases lead to a relative increase in self-esteem. Chronically sad people, on the other hand, assimilated towards a recalled negative self and contrasted away from a recalled positive self, which in both cases lead to a relative decrease in self-esteem. Thus, this research shows that psychological health in the form of chronic mood can impact self-esteem via the medium of recalling past selves. The research reported in the second empirical chapter (Chapter 3) was motivated by the conviction that a full understanding of the relationship between self-esteem and psychological health can be obtained only by placing this relationship in a larger context involving other psychological variables. Past research suggests that belongingness is the one psychological construct that is particularly relevant in this respect. Thus, Chapter 3 reports a line of research studying the relations between belongingness, self-esteem, and psychological health. In three studies, we developed and validated a novel two-dimensional measure of people's perceptions of the belongingness they experience from other people. The measure assesses the amount of belongingness experienced and the degree to which people perceive this belongingness as being unconditional or conditional on their achievements and contributions. We extended past social psychological research by demonstrating that the unconditionally of belongingness explains variance in psychological health independent of the amount of belongingness. More importantly, the data showed that self-esteem plays a central role in these relationships. Specifically, the amount of self-esteem (e.g., global self-esteem) mediated the relationship between the amount of belongingness and psychological health, whereas the conditionally of self-esteem (i.e., global contingent self-esteem) mediates the relationship between the unconditionally of belongingness and psychological health. In the final empirical chapter (Chapter 4), we wanted to elucidate why past empirical research failed to find a relationship between implicit measures of self-esteem and self-reported psychological health when controlling for explicit measures of self-esteem. One reason for this puzzling but consistent null result may be that existent implicit measures of self-esteem assess domain-specific self-esteem, but not global self-esteem. Thus, Chapter 4 reports a line of research studying the relation between psychological health and a novel implicit measure of global self-esteem. Six studies developed and validated this new implicit measure, finding that our newly developed measure predicts higher psychological health even when controlling for explicitly measured self-esteem. Finally, Chapter 5 reviews the contribution of the research presented in this thesis to our understanding of the relationship between self-esteem and psychological health. Overall, the research emphasises the complexity of the multi-faceted processes that underlie this relationship. Directions for future research are discussed.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Relationship between self-esteem and psychological health

This thesis examines the relationship between self-esteem and psychological health. In Chapter 1, I define self-esteem and psychological health, illustrate the prominence of these two psychological constructs, and review the literature on the relation between self-esteem and psychological health. As we will see, self-esteem can be defined as one's overall evaluation as a person, and psychological health can be defined as the absence of depression, anxiety, and negative affect together with the presence of life satisfaction and positive affect. Further, we will see that self-esteem and psychological health are among the most frequently researched psychological constructs. Thus, the corpus of research on the relationship between self-esteem and psychological health is massive. Nonetheless, the nature and dynamics of this relationship are complex and far from being fully understood. The empirical research presented in this thesis helps to better understand this relationship. To this end, I have conducted three empirical lines of research. The three lines of research approach the same overarching goal from three very different angles. In the first empirical chapter (Chapter 2), I report a line of research in which my collaborators and I studied the impact of one facet of psychological health - i.e., chronic mood - on self-esteem when recalling positive and negative past selves. In four studies, we found that chronically happy people assimilated towards a recalled positive self and contrasted away from a recalled negative self, which in both cases lead to a relative increase in self-esteem. Chronically sad people, on the other hand, assimilated towards a recalled negative self and contrasted away from a recalled positive self, which in both cases lead to a relative decrease in self-esteem. Thus, this research shows that psychological health in the form of chronic mood can impact self-esteem via the medium of recalling past selves. The research reported in the second empirical chapter (Chapter 3) was motivated by the conviction that a full understanding of the relationship between self-esteem and psychological health can be obtained only by placing this relationship in a larger context involving other psychological variables. Past research suggests that belongingness is the one psychological construct that is particularly relevant in this respect. Thus, Chapter 3 reports a line of research studying the relations between belongingness, self-esteem, and psychological health. In three studies, we developed and validated a novel two-dimensional measure of people's perceptions of the belongingness they experience from other people. The measure assesses the amount of belongingness experienced and the degree to which people perceive this belongingness as being unconditional or conditional on their achievements and contributions. We extended past social psychological research by demonstrating that the unconditionally of belongingness explains variance in psychological health independent of the amount of belongingness. More importantly, the data showed that self-esteem plays a central role in these relationships. Specifically, the amount of self-esteem (e.g., global self-esteem) mediated the relationship between the amount of belongingness and psychological health, whereas the conditionally of self-esteem (i.e., global contingent self-esteem) mediates the relationship between the unconditionally of belongingness and psychological health. In the final empirical chapter (Chapter 4), we wanted to elucidate why past empirical research failed to find a relationship between implicit measures of self-esteem and self-reported psychological health when controlling for explicit measures of self-esteem. One reason for this puzzling but consistent null result may be that existent implicit measures of self-esteem assess domain-specific self-esteem, but not global self-esteem. Thus, Chapter 4 reports a line of research studying the relation between psychological health and a novel implicit measure of global self-esteem. Six studies developed and validated this new implicit measure, finding that our newly developed measure predicts higher psychological health even when controlling for explicitly measured self-esteem. Finally, Chapter 5 reviews the contribution of the research presented in this thesis to our understanding of the relationship between self-esteem and psychological health. Overall, the research emphasises the complexity of the multi-faceted processes that underlie this relationship. Directions for future research are discussed

Big Five personality and religiosity: Bidirectional cross-lagged effects and their moderation by culture

Objective: Personality has long been assumed to be a cause of religiosity, not a consequence. Yet, recent research suggests that religiosity may well cause personality change. Consequently, longitudinal research is required that examines the bi-directionality between personality and religiosity. The required research must also attend to cultural religiosity - a critical moderator in previous cross-sectional research. Method: We conducted four-wave, cross-lagged panel models assessing the bi-directional effects between religiosity (measured as religious attendance) and the Big Five personality traits over 12 years in 14 samples (Ntotal = 44,485). Each sample used population-representative data from a different German federal state - states that vary widely in religiosity. Results: The findings were the following: (1) Agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness were associated with changes in religiosity, with the latter two effects being culture-contingent. (2) Religiosity was associated with changes in agreeableness and openness, with the latter effect being culture-contingent. (3) The cross-lagged effects of personality on religiosity were overall stronger than the reverse effects. Conclusions: The directionality between the Big Five and religiosity seems to go both ways and culture matters for those effects. We discuss the power of religiosity to alter personality and the role of culture for this effect and for personality change more generally

Religious people only live longer in religious cultural contexts: A gravestone analysis.

Religious people live longer than non-religious people according to a staple of social science research. Yet, are those longevity benefits an inherent feature of religiosity? To find out, we coded gravestone inscriptions and imagery in order to assess the religiosity and longevity of 6,400 deceased people from religious and non-religious U.S. counties. We show that in religious cultural contexts, religious people lived 2.2 years longer than did non-religious people. In non-religious cultural contexts, however, religiosity conferred no such longevity benefits. Evidently, a longer life is not an inherent feature of religiosity. Instead, religious people only live longer in religious cultural contexts where religiosity is valued. Our study answers a fundamental question on the nature of religiosity and showcases the scientific potential of gravestone analyses

Secularization Trends Obscure Developmental Changes in Religiosity

How do people’s religious beliefs and behaviors change over the course of adulthood? Previous research found rapid decreases in religiosity during young adulthood and rebounds in middle and late adulthood. However, secularization trends—if not accounted for—can bias or obscure age-graded changes in religiosity. Using longitudinal data from over 14,000 Dutch participants aged 16 to 101 years, we disentangled secularization trends from developmental changes in religiosity. Controlling for secularization, we found no evidence for age-graded declines in religiosity among young adults but lifelong increases in religiosity. These increases were most pronounced during middle to late adulthood, consistent with theories that emphasize the self-transcendent focus of this life stage. College-educated individuals were generally less religious and experienced less pronounced age-graded increases in their religious beliefs. These findings must be understood in the context of secularization trends as indicated by significant decreases in religiosity among people of all demographic groups

Feeling Torn When Everything Seems Right: Semantic Incongruence Causes Felt Ambivalence

The co-occurrence of positive and negative attributes of an attitude object typically accounts for less than a quarter of the variance in felt ambivalence toward these objects, rendering this evaluative incongruence insufficient for explaining felt ambivalence. The present research tested whether another type of incongruence, semantic incongruence, also causes felt ambivalence. Semantic incongruence arises from inconsistencies in the descriptive content of attitude objects’ attributes (e.g., attributes that are not mutually supportive), independent of these attributes’ valences. Experiment 1 manipulated evaluative and semantic incongruence using valence norms and semantic norms. Both of these norm-based manipulations independently predicted felt ambivalence, and, in Experiment 2, they even did so over and above self-based incongruence (i.e., participants’ idiosyncratic perceptions of evaluative and semantic incongruence). Experiments 3a and 3b revealed that aversive dissonant feelings play a role in the effects of evaluative incongruence, but not semantic incongruence, on felt ambivalence

Cross-cultural variations in big five relationships with religiosity: a sociocultural motives perspective.

A sociocultural motives perspective (SMP) on Big Five relationships is introduced. According to the SMP, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness elicit assimilation to sociocultural norms, Openness elicits contrast from these norms, and Extraversion and Neuroticism are independent of sociocultural assimilation and contrast. Due to sociocultural assimilation, then, relationships of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness with an outcome wax (become more positive or less negative) with that outcome's increasing sociocultural normativeness. Due to sociocultural contrast, relationships of Openness with an outcome wane (become less positive or more negative) with that outcome's increasing sociocultural normativeness. We tested the SMP using religiosity as our outcome. Study 1 included 4 cross-sectional self-report data sets across 66 countries (N = 1,129,334), 50 U.S. states (N = 1,057,342), 15 German federal states (N = 20,885), and 121 British urban areas (N = 386,315). Study 2 utilized informant-report data across 37 countries (N = 544,512). Study 3 used longitudinal data across 15 German federal states (N = 14,858). Results consistently supported the SMP. Relationships of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness with religiosity were more positive in religious sociocultural contexts than in secular contexts. Relationships of Openness with religiosity were more negative in religious sociocultural contexts than in secular contexts. At a more general level, the SMP offers theory-driven explanations for cross-cultural variations in Big Five relationships with their outcomes.We thankfully acknowledge support from the German Research Foundation (DFG; GE 2515/3-1).This is the accepted manuscript. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record. The final version is available from APA at http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2014-35855-001/

To Live Among Like-Minded Others: Exploring the Links Between Person-City Personality Fit and Self-Esteem.

Does it matter if your personality fits in with the personalities of the people where you live? The present study explored the links between person-city personality fit and self-esteem. Using data from 543,934 residents of 860 U.S. cities, we examined the extent to which the fit between individuals' Big Five personality traits and the Big Five traits of the city where they live (i.e., the prevalent traits of the city's inhabitants) predicts individuals' self-esteem. To provide a benchmark for these effects, we also estimated the degree to which the fit between person and city religiosity predicts individuals' self-esteem. The results provided a nuanced picture of the effects of person-city personality fit on self-esteem: We found significant but small effects of fit on self-esteem only for openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, rather than effects for all Big Five traits. Similar results and effect sizes were observed for religiosity. We conclude with a discussion of the relevance and limitations of this study.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE via http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/095679761562713

Extracting agency and communion from the Big Five: A four-way competition

Agency and communion are the two fundamental content dimensions in psychology. The two dimensions figure prominently in many psychological realms (personality, social, self, motivational, cross-cultural, etc.). In contemporary research, however, personality is most commonly measured within the Big Five framework. We developed novel agency and communion scales based on the items from the most popular nonpropriety measure of the Big Five—the Big Five Inventory. We compared four alternative scale-construction methods: expert rating, target scale, ant colony, and brute force. Across three samples (N(total) = 942), all methods yielded reliable and valid agency and communion scales. Our research provides two main contributions. For psychometric theory, it extends knowledge on the four scale-construction methods and their relative convergence. For psychometric practice, it enables researchers to examine agency and communion hypotheses with extant Big Five Inventory data sets, including those collected in their own labs as well as openly accessible, large-scale data sets