A daily diary methodology was used to investigate the effects of rejection on daily health and wellbeing as well as the moderating role of self-esteem. Participants completed an online diary for two weeks, reporting on rejection, mental well-being/resources, risky health behaviors, and healthrelated outcomes. Overall, daily rejection was associated with decreases in mental well-being/ resources but not with health behaviors or health-related outcomes. Additionally, self-esteem played an important moderating role. On high rejection days low self-esteem individuals were more likely to engage in risky health behaviors, and on the day following a high rejection day they reported decrements in health and well-being. Discussion centers on possible self-regulatory explanations for these findings and implications for the health of individuals with low self-esteem. Keywords: Daily diary; Health; Interpersonal rejection; Self-esteem; Self-regulation. People of all ages are most likely to thrive when they feel valued and accepted by others; but social acceptance is not always attainable. Even the most socially skilled people have experienced times when they felt socially excluded or rejected by others. These feelings of rejection are a common human experience that can lead to negative psychological consequences Despite the fact that rejection is normatively distressing, individuals differ in their responses to rejection, with some individuals displaying relative resilience following rejection and others displaying vulnerability to the poor outcomes associated with rejection. One factor that has been associated with resilience/vulnerability in the face of rejection is an individual's self-view. There is growing evidence that individuals with negative self-views (such as those with low self-esteem) respond to rejection in ways that are harmful to their psychological well-being (e.g., Responses to Rejection A number of theories assert that humans have a fundamental need to belong and that rejection is aversive because it threatens the fulfillment of this need Potential Pathways Linking Rejection and Health What are the mechanisms through which rejection might impact health and wellbeing? Rejection may impact health and well-being in at least three ways: (1) by triggering adverse cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses; (2) by shaping health-related behaviors; and (3) by interfering with restorative behaviors. Of these three possible mechanisms only the first one has received research attention. Thus, the goal of the current study was to extend research in two ways. First, we investigated the effects of rejection on health-related behaviors (pathway 2) and restorative behaviors (pathway 3). Second, we investigated the role of self-esteem in shaping health-related behaviors and restorative behaviors following rejection. Why might rejection influence health-related behaviors? A small number of laboratory studies have shown that rejection reduces self-regulatory ability Rejection may also impact health by affecting restorative behaviors, such as sleep. Although the association between rejection and sleep quality has not been explored there is evidence that other experiences that signify social devaluation, such as perceptions of social isolation and loneliness, are associated with poor sleep quality Self-esteem as a Moderator of Responses to Rejection Although rejection is normatively distressing, not everyone responds to it in the same way. There are important individual differences in sensitivity to subtle or ambiguous rejection cues, which are prevalent in everyday life. Some individuals have a lower threshold for appraising rejection cues as threatening to the self and are therefore more reactive to rejection. One variable that seems to play an important role in shaping reactivity to rejection is self-esteem. Specifically, individuals with low selfesteem (LSE) are more likely to see rejection as evidence of a flawed self Research findings are beginning to suggest that the response patterns exhibited by LSE individuals following rejection may make them vulnerable to both decrements in emotional well-being and poor health. For example, a recent longitudinal study of college students revealed that LSE was associated with poor health outcomes and that the association between LSE and poor health was mediated by interpersonal stressors The Present Study The current investigation had two main goals: (1) to examine the relationship between daily rejection and health and well-being; and (2) to examine the moderating role of SE on this relationship. To accomplish these goals we utilized a daily diary methodology in which participants answered questions about daily rejection, psychological well-being/resources (depressed mood, perceived stress, perceived ability to self-regulate behaviors), daily health-related responses (overeating, unsafe sex, substance use), and daily health outcomes (sleep quality, physical symptoms, and general feelings of health) each evening for two weeks. This methodology enabled us to conduct both within-person and between-person analyses. At the within-person level, we examined the normative effects of rejection on health by comparing participant's levels of health and well-being on their high rejection days versus their low rejection days. We predicted that rejection would be associated with decrements in psychological well-being, health behaviors, and health outcomes. At the between-person level, we examined SE differences in reactivity to rejection. We Self-esteem, Daily rejection, and Health 1
