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According to the just world theory, individuals have the need to believe that the world is a fair and predictable place where good things happen to 'good' people and bad things happen to 'bad' people. Previous research on this theory has focused mainly on students of secondary education and higher education. The current study examines personal (PBJW) and general (GBJW) belief in a just world in 292 fifth and sixth-grade primary school students (M.sub.age = 10.98, SD = 0.74) in Greece. It also investigates the effect of other demographic variables, such as grade, gender, and place of residence on self-esteem. Lastly, it explores the contribution of PBJW and GBJW to self-esteem. Students completed the Greek translation of the scales of General and Personal Belief in a Just World as well as a Self-Esteem Scale. The results indicated that students more strongly endorse PBJW than GBJW. Also, PBJW and children's place of residence significantly predict self-esteem, indicating that the more the students feel they are treated fairly, the better their level of self-esteem., Author(s): Spyridoula Tatsi [sup.1] , Penny Panagiotopoulou [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) Patras, Greece (2) grid.11047.33, 0000 0004 0576 5395, Department of Education and Social Work, University of Patras, , Patras, [...]

Five studies examined the hypothesis that heterosexual men, but not heterosexual women, endorse negative attitudes toward homosexuality (i.e., sexual prejudice) in order to maintain a positive gender-related identity that is unambiguously different from a homosexual identity. Studies 1 and 2 showed that men's (but not women's) gender self-esteem (but not personal self-esteem) was positively related to sexual prejudice: The more positive heterosexual men's gender self-esteem, the more negative their attitude toward homosexuality. Studies 3 and 4 showed that this link appears specifically among men motivated to maintain psychological distance from gay men. Study 5 experimentally manipulated the perceived biological differences between homosexual and heterosexual men. The previously observed link between men's gender self-esteem and sexual prejudice appeared in the control and no-differences conditions but disappeared in the differences condition. These findings are discussed in terms of men's attitudes as a defensive function against threat to masculinity. Keywords: gender self-esteem; intergroup attitudes; sex differences; sexual prejudice; intergroup differentiation; identity threat; biological differences

This study examined 100 male Latino undergraduates' cultural self-esteem, perceived educational barriers, cultural fit, coping responses (CRs), and subsequent well-being within higher education. The most commonly reported CR for Latino males was to actively find out more about the situation and take a positive planned action. Assessing group mean differences, a class standing by generation interaction revealed that first-generation lower division and first-generation upper division students reported higher perceptions of barriers to staying in school than second-generation lower division and second-generation upper division students, respectively. Similarly, examining differences of coefficients, the strength of the relationship of perceptions of barriers to staying in school and psychological well-being was significantly stronger for the first-generation than second-generation male students Cultural congruity and emotion-focused coping were most predictive of psychological well-being; however, perception of barriers to staying in school was consistently evident in understanding male Latino undergraduates' educational experiences. Keywords: coping; well-being; male Latino undergraduates

Given global population ageing and the fact that Australia is experiencing a significant increase in the proportion of older adults in its population, research into ageing issues has become a national priority. Whilst body image and selfesteem have been empirically linked, the relationship among older adults has been neglected. This study investigated several body-image variables and their relationship to sell-esteem in a sample of 148 men and women aged 65-85 years who were living independently in the Perth Metropolitan Area of Western Australia. They completed the 'Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale' and the 'Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire'. The results indicated, contrary to a common misconception, that body-image concerns are significant to selfesteem in older adulthood, but that these vary by age and gender. Whilst women appear to develop various strategies to counter the effects of ageing, men seem to be more negatively affected, particularly in relation to body functioning. The findings shed light on the meaning of body image in older adulthood. A better understanding of the meaning of body image, of the factors that influence the meaning, and of how these relate to older adults' self-esteem may help older adults develop a positive body image that will contribute to psycho-social strengths and enhance their quality of life. KEY WORDS--ageing, body image, self-esteem.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) persons come from diverse cultural groups with diverse racial and ethnic identities. However, most research on LGBQ persons has used primarily White samples, and most research on African Americans has used largely heterosexual samples. Thus, research has largely failed to attend to and investigate the complexity of African American LGBQ persons' experiences. This study examined the relations between multiple internalized oppressions and African American sexual minority persons' self-esteem and psychological distress. Results indicated that when examined together, internalized racism and internalized heterosexism (also known as internalized homophobia) were both significant negative predictors of self-esteem, but only internalized heterosexism was a unique positive predictor of psychological distress. The interaction of internalized racism and internalized heterosexism was not a significant predictor of self-esteem or psychological distress. Finally, the authors' findings indicate that self-esteem partially mediates the relationship between internalized heterosexism and psychological distress. Keywords: racial identity, internalized racism, internalized homophobia, feminist theory, African American

The fear of experiencing discrimination often provokes symptoms of psychological distress. One coping resource is positive identification with ones social group--known as collective self-esteem. This preliminary study investigated whether collective self-esteem was related to fears regarding a transsexual identity and psychological distress among 53 self-identified male-to-female transsexuals (mean age = 50.79 years). Participants were recruited from transgender events held m Arizona and California. The majority (81%) reported living full-time as women (mean length of time living as a woman 6.33 years). Negative feelings about the transsexual community and fears regarding the impact of a transsexual identity were positively related to psychological distress. A regression model revealed that the fear of how a transsexual identity would affect one's life was the best predictor of the severity of psychological distress. These results are consistent with findings from other historically marginalized groups, whereby the stress of being stigmatized by society adversely affects mental health. Keywords: transgender, gender identity disorder, brief symptom inventory, minority stress, gender dysphoria Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0014573.supp

This article describes a social psychological framework for understanding sexual stigma, and it reports data on sexual minority individuals' stigma-related experiences. The framework distinguishes between stigma's manifestations in society's institutions (heterosexism) and among individuals. The latter include enacted sexual stigma (overt negative actions against sexual minorities, such as hate crimes), felt sexual stigma (expectations about the circumstances in which sexual stigma will be enacted), and internalized sexual stigma (personal acceptance of sexual stigma as part of one's value system and self-concept). Drawing from previous research on internalized sexual stigma among heterosexuals (i.e., sexual prejudice), the article considers possible parallels in how sexual minorities experience internalized sexual stigma (i.e., self-stigma, or negative attitudes toward the self). Data are presented from a community sample of lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults (N = 2,259) to illustrate the model's utility for generating and testing hypotheses concerning self-stigma. Keywords: Lesbian, gay, and bisexual psychology, self-esteem, heterosexism, internalized homophobia, sexual stigma Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0014672.supp

The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the relationship between beterosexist events and psychological distress and (b) the potential moderating roles of social support, avoidant coping, and self-esteem in the relationship between heterosexist events and psychological distress among 210 gay and bisexual men. Findings from the Web-based Internet survey revealed that many gay and bisexual men experienced heterosexist harassment, rejection, and discrimination at least once in a while during the past year and that these experiences were positively related to psychological distress. Results also indicated that self-esteem moderated the relationship between heterosexist events and psychological distress, with significant risk being associated with low self-esteem. No support was found for the moderating roles of social support and avoidant coping in the link between heterosexist events and psychological distress. Keywords: heterosexist events, self-esteem, coping, social support, minority stress

East Asians report lower levels of self-esteem than North Americans and Western Europeans. These differences could mean that self-esteem is a culturally bounded construct, experienced differently in different cultures, or they could mean that self-esteem is a universally relevant construct whose average level is raised or lowered in different cultures. To examine these possibilities, the authors assessed self-esteem functioning in China and America. Study 1 found that, across cultures, self-serving attributions are stronger when self-esteem is high than when it is low. Study 2 replicated this finding and also found that, across cultures, failure produces less emotional distress when self-esteem is high than when it is low. Because self-esteem functioned similarly in China as in America, the authors conclude it is of general psychological importance. Keywords: self-esteem; culture; self-enhancement biases

This study examines the self-esteem, acculturation, and ethnic identity of 150 Latino adolescents enrolled in either a bilingual or traditional education program. Bilingual education programs were established to ensure that academic failure was not the product of limited English proficiency. Grade point average (GPA), acculturation, and ethnic identity significantly predicted self-esteem for students in bilingual programs, whereas only GPA and acculturation significantly predicted self-esteem for students in traditional educational programs., Ethnic diversity has dramatically increased in the United States over the last several decades. From 1980 to 1992, the Latino population rose from 6.5% to 9.5% and the African American [...]

Every day for two weeks, participants at four sites (2 in the US, 1 in Canada, and 1 in Japan) described their self-esteem and affect and they described the events that occurred each day. Multilevel random coefficient modeling analyses found that the self_esteem of Japanese participants changed more in reaction to daily social events (both positive and negative) than it did for North American participants. For positive social events, the Japanese were more reactive in terms of positive affect than North Americans. For negative social events, the Japanese were more reactive in terms of depressed mood (ND) and deactive positive affect (PD) than North Americans. In contrast, the Japanese were less reactive to negative achievement events than North Americans in terms of PA and anxious mood. The Japanese were more reactive than North Americans to positive achievement events in terms of PA and ND. The results highlight the greater sensitivity of the Japanese to social concerns compared to North Americans, and the greater affective sensitivity of North Americans to failure in achievement domains. Keywords: self-construction; self-esteem; multilevel modeling; reactions to daily events

A growing literature suggests that stronger ethnic identity is associated with higher levels of sell-esteem among Hispanic Americans. However, most studies employ a panethnic ''Hispanic' category or locus on one ethnic group, leaving open the question of how different Hispanic groups compare in this association, in the framework of social identity theory, the author provides ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates of the relationship between ethnic identity and later self-esteem in a sample of Nicaraguan and Cuban young adults in South Florida (N = 291). Results indicate that stronger ethnic identity is salutary for Cubans' self-esteem though detrimental for Nicaraguans'. Additionally, Nicaraguans report significantly weaker ethnic identification and lower self-esteem than do Cubans on average. Also, higher perceived ethnic discrimination is associated with stronger ethnic identity for Cubans. Keywords: social identity theory; self-esteem; Hispanic; Latino/a; perceived discrimination

The current research is designed to explore the relationship among discrimination stress, coping strategies, and self-esteem among Mexican descent youth (N= 73, age 11-15 years). Results suggest that primary control engagement and disengagement coping strategies are positively associated with discrimination stress. Furthermore, self-esteem is predicted by an interaction of primary control engagement coping and discrimination stress, such that at higher levels of discrimination stress, youth who engaged in more primary control engagement coping reported higher serf-esteem. The authors' findings indicate that Mexican descent youth are actively finding ways to cope with the common experience of negative stereotypes and prejudice, such that their self-esteem is protected from the stressful impact of discrimination and prejudice. Implications of these findings for Latino/a youth resilience are discussed. Keywords: discrimination; coping; self-esteem; Mexican adolescents

In recent research on post-divorce families in Hong Kong, there has been a shift away from the assumption of pathology, and in favor of a trend of increasing attention to children' s resilience and the benefits of a continuous parental relationship. There remains, however, a lack of empirical knowledge to guide social work practices in this area in contemporary Hong Kong. The present study is designed to examine how children's relationships with both parents and the different patterns of parental relationships impact children's self-esteem. Sixty-nine postdivorce families participated in the survey. The findings of a positive impact of quality relationship with both parents supported the promotion of active involvement of both parents. The likelihood of increased parental conflicts, however, makes the co-parental involvement a double-edged sword as far as the children are concerned, while an avoidance/low-conflict pattern of parental relationship is found to be the most beneficial pattern for the children. To enhance the well-being of children, a secure residential parent-child relationship with a noncompetitive nonresidential parent-child relationship is deemed beneficial, doi: 10.13001J002v42n04_05 KEYWORDS. Children's self-esteem, family relationships, Hong Kong, post-divorce family

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) was translated into 28 languages and administered to 16,998 participants across 53 nations. The RSES factor structure was largely invariant across nations. RSES scores correlated with neuroticism, extraversion, and romantic attachment styles within nearly all nations, providing additional support for cross-cultural equivalence of the RSES. All nations scored above the theoretical midpoint of the RSES, indicating generally positive self-evaluation may be culturally universal. Individual differences in self-esteem were variable across cultures, with a neutral response bias prevalent in more collectivist cultures. Self-competence and serf-liking subscales of the RSES varied with cultural individualism. Although positively and negatively worded items of the RSES were correlated within cultures and were uniformly related to external personality variables, differences between aggregates of positive and negative items were smaller in developed nations. Because negatively worded items were interpreted differently across nations, direct cross-cultural comparisons using the RSES may have limited value. Keywords: self-esteem, cross-cultural psychology, personality

The literature on national differences in sources of well-being (Kwan, Bond, & Singelis, 1997) was used to generate predictions about gender differences in sources of well-being. This linkage was made possible by parallels between national and gender differences in individualism, collectivism, and selfhood (Markus & Kitayama, 1994). Respondents completed measures of self-construal, self-esteem, relationship harmony, and well-being (positive and negative affect). As anticipated, men's well-being was predicted better by self-esteem than by relationship harmony, whereas women's well-being was predicted similarly (though more moderately) by self-esteem and relationship harmony. A mediated pathway from independent self-construal to well-being through self-esteem was predicted and supported. Conceptual fit of this study with previous cross-national and gender research is discussed. KEY WORDS: gender; well-being; self-construal.

This paper uses data from a large-scale study (N = 1070) of Turkish and Moroccan early adolescents in the Netherlands. In it, it was found that a distinction between positive and negative self-esteem as 2 relatively independent dimensions of global self-esteem could be made. Other results were that ethnic identification and family integrity as an individual tendency toward collectivism turned out to be positively related to positive self-esteem. On the other hand, peer discrimination and intergenerational discrepancies in attitude toward Dutch cultural practices appeared to be related to lowered positive self-esteem and enhanced negative self-esteem. These relationships were similar for both groups of participants. However, the Moroccans had higher positive self-esteem and lower negative self-esteem. Furthermore, the Moroccans identified more strongly with their ethnic group and reported more intergenerational cultural discrepancies, whereas the Turks experienced more discrimination and valued family integrit y more. It is concluded that, in addition to the differential resources and threats, the examination of these 2 dimensions of self-esteem can improve our understanding of the development of self-evaluation by ethnic minority youth. KEY WORDS: ethnic minorities; self-esteem.

Results demonstrate that self-esteem levels, high in childhood, drop during adolescence but then recover and rise throughout adulthood with a final dip in old age. Data indicate that this trend in self-esteem is seen across gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and nationality.

Abstract This study compared the attainments of elementary students in technology-enriched classrooms and students in traditional classrooms in terms of student achievement, self-esteem, and classroom interaction. Intact classes from five […]

Research on overweight children indicates that general self-esteem is predicted not by physical self-esteem, but by cognitive and social self-esteem. However, while highly obese girls had lower physical self-esteem than moderately obese girls, the opposite pattern was observed in boys.

These meta-analyses examine race differences in self-esteem among 712 datapoints. Blacks scored higher than Whites on self-esteem measures (d = 0.19), but Whites scored higher than other racial minority groups, including Hispanics (d = -0.09), Asians (d = -0.30), and American Indians (d = -0.21). Most of these differences were smallest in childhood and grew larger with age. Blacks' self-esteem increased over time relative to Whites', with the Black advantage not appearing until the 1980s. Black and Hispanic samples scored higher on measures without an academic self-esteem subscale. Relative to Whites, minority males had lower self-esteem than did minority females, and Black and Hispanic self-esteem was higher in groups with high socioeconomic status. The results are most consistent with a cultural interpretation of racial differences in self-esteem.

A. R. Hafdahl and B. Gray-Little (2002) raised several issues of study inclusion and statistical reporting, none of which challenged the overall results or took issue with the theoretical conclusions of J. M. Twenge and J. Crocker (2002). Excluding the few studies whose inclusion Hafdahl and Gray-Little questioned would not change the results. Twenge and Crocker's inclusion of twice as many data sources is the more likely cause of differences between the 2 meta-analyses. The authors argue that including standardized regression coefficients is essential for reader understanding and reiterate the position that academic self-esteem scales should not be included in an analysis focusing on general self-esteem. Examining the specific domains of self-esteem would entail another meta-analysis, preferably one including other specific domains as well.

A recent research synthesis by the authors (B. Gray-Little & A. R. Hafdahl, 2000) reported a self-esteem advantage for African American relative to White children and adolescents. In their partial replication, comment, and extension, J. M. Twenge and J. Crocker (2002) explained some differences between the 2 reviews by emphasizing their larger sample size. In this reply, the authors note important differences not only in sample size, but also in sampling strategy and statistical analyses. Different standards were used for judging the quality of data for calculating an effect size and for determining relevance of the samples to the hypotheses. Furthermore, the authors question certain of Twenge and Crocker's statistical procedures, particularly their regression and correlation analyses relating moderator variables to effect size.

Research indicates that women with eating disorders exhibit a higher degree of body esteem attribution than women without eating disorders. Body esteem attribution is the assignment of positive outcomes to personal appearance, such as 'I believe my appearance will help me get asked out.'

Research indicates that eating disorders are strongly associated with neuroticism and low self-esteem. Data were obtained from studies on 2,862 girls and young women between the ages of 12 and 21 using multivariable logistic regression models to analyze results.

This study examined the impact of relationship connectedness (i.e., conformity to parents) and chi(i.e., parental autonomy granting) on the self-esteem of mainland Chinese and European-American adolescents. The findings indicate that adolescent autonomy from parents is a consistent positive predictor of adolescent self-esteem among both Chinese and US samples regardless of gender. However, conformity to parents revealed a more complex series of relationships that varied across gender and cultural group. Adolescent conformity to parents predicted self-esteem most consistently among European-American sons, while only daughters' conformity to mothers predicted self-esteem among the Chinese sample. Contrary to hypotheses, the relationship between autonomy from parents and adolescent self-esteem was not stronger and more consistent within the European-American sample (i.e., the individualistic society) than in the sample from mainland China (i.e., the collectivistic society). Similarly, the relationships between adolescent conformity to parents was not a stronger and more consistent predictor of self-esteem among the Chinese sample in comparison to the US sample. The findings for this study point to the particular importance of aspects of both individualism and collectivism that appear to operate within the socialization processes of the same culture regardless of the dominant macro level social orientation. Another important finding was the patterns of gender differences for the specific influences of either relationship separatedness (autonomy) and connectedness (conformity) on adolescent self-esteem. Keywords: Self-esteem, adolescence, cross-cultural, Chinese, parent-adolescent relations

This research compared the scores on the three subscales of the Body Esteem Scale of 67 female intercollegiate athletes from various sports, and 57 female nonathlete college students enrolled in regular college classes. Analysis indicated no significant differences between the groups on the Sexual Attractiveness and Weight Concern subscales, but only on the Physical Condition subscale, with athletes reporting higher scores and more positive perceptions of body esteem than nonathletes.

Research on racial comparisons of self-esteem was examined. Early research in this area, exemplified by the doll studies of racial preference, was viewed as demonstrating that Blacks have less self-regard than Whites. However, a meta-analytic synthesis of 261 comparisons, based largely on self-esteem scales and involving more than half a million respondents, revealed higher scores for Black than for White children, adolescents, and young adults. This analysis further revealed that the direction and magnitude of racial differences are influenced by such demographic characteristics as participant age and socioeconomic status, as well as by characteristics of the measuring instruments. Many findings--for example, that the self-esteem advantage for Black respondents increases with age and is related to the sex composition of the sample--underscore the need for long-term longitudinal studies of self-esteem development in male and female members of both racial groups.

Results from this comparative study showed that (a) American students gave more emphasis to achievement, competence, and conformity values and were more in favor of rewarding high achievers; (b) Australian students gave less emphasis to conformity values, rated prosocial values as higher in importance, and reported higher equalitarianism; (c) Canadian students gave less emphasis to affiliative contentment values. Gender differences were also obtained on the value, attitude, and self-esteem measures., In a recent article, Feather and Adair (in press) compared Australian and Canadian students with respect to social attitudes, global self-esteem, and value priorities. The questionnaire that was used included [...]

Recent research indicates that adolescent girls' self-esteem is lower than that of boys, and adolescence has been identified as a particularly problematic period for female self-esteem. However, many studies use global self-esteem measures that mask important differences within the domains of self-concept that contribute to self-esteem. Further, some self-esteem measures assess components of male self-esteem but overlook aspects of female self-esteem. The possible selves approach was used to identify categories of adolescent male and female self-concept that correlate with self-esteem. Subjects were 212 high-school students. The sample was primarily (96%) Caucasian. Results indicate that female self-esteem is related to perceived likelihood of hoped-for and feared possible selves in multiple domains, whereas male self-esteem is related only to the likelihood of one domain of hoped-for possible selves.

This qualitative study used written narratives to examine gender and age patterns in body image, emotional expression, and self-esteem for a total of 209 boys and girls in the fifth, eighth, and twelfth grades. Seventy-six percent of the sample was Caucasian, 18% African-American, 5% Asian-American, and .5% Hispanic. A major finding indicates that boys restrict emotional expression from early adolescence through late adolescence, while girls increase emotional expression during the same age period. Another major finding suggests that girls in late childhood and adolescence are both more negatively and more positively influenced than boys by body image. Both boys' and girls' feelings about themselves are primarily influenced in gender-stereotyped ways.

The purpose of this study was to assess how women's perceptions of themselves and their bodies vary by race/ethnicity and class. One hundred and fourteen female students (45 African-American, 69 Caucasian) from two Connecticut community colleges were surveyed. We predicted that African-American women will report higher levels of self-esteem and a more positive body image than Caucasian women. These predictions were supported. Also as predicted, African-American women report possessing more masculine traits and that men of their race tend less to prefer thin, small figured women. Controlling for these 'protective factors' substantially reduces the relationship between race/ethnicity and self-concept. African-American women's racial identity and exposure to the dominant culture did not relate to self-concept measures.

Perceived breast size, breast size satisfaction, body image (body satisfaction and generalized appearance satisfaction) and psychological functioning (self-esteem, self-consciousness, and generalized appearance preoccupation), as well as stereotyping of breast size, were examined in 166 Caucasian and Asian American college women. Caucasian women reported slightly larger perceived and ideal breast sizes, but no significant group differences for any of the other variables were found; groups were combined for subsequent analyses. Both large and small breastedness were associated with lower breast size satisfaction. Hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for body size (assessed indirectly by a weight preoccupation measure) and including the interaction of perceived breast size and breast size satisfaction, yielded main effects for weight preoccupation, perceived breast size, and satisfaction with breast size, but no interactions. Over and above the effect of weight preoccupation, smaller perceived breast size was associated with lower breast size satisfaction and with more positive body image, while larger size was associated with higher breast size satisfaction and with less positive body image. Lower self-esteem was associated with lower breast size satisfaction but not with perceived breast size, while higher public self-consciousness, social anxiety, and appearance preoccupation were associated with a mismatch between ideal and perceived size, regardless of whether ideal size was smaller or larger than perceived size. Implications of these findings are discussed within the broader cultural context.

A Chinese version of the Self-Description Questionnaire 1 (SDQ-1; Marsh, 1988) was used to investigate age and gender differences in a sample of 303 male and 296 female 10-year-old children and 116 male and 116 female 13-year-old children attending typical Beijing public schools. Significant Age x Gender interaction effects were found on all 8 SDQ-1 scales. Main effects for age were found on the Physical Abilities, Reading, and School subscales and for gender on the same three subscales plus Peer Relations. Further analysis indicated that the older girls tended to report significantly lower self-esteem than both the younger girls and older boys in the areas of physical abilities, reading, mathematics, and general self-concept. The boys reported more positive self-perceptions on most nonacademic self-scales, but both the older boys and older girls reported less favorable self-esteem than their younger peers on the scales for reading and school in general., After an extensive review of the research literature on relationships between self-esteem, age, and gender, Wylie (1979) concluded that there was no evidence of any consistent, significant relationships. However, she [...]

This study examined the relationship of body esteem, weight satisfaction, self esteem, and depression among 309 (186 females and 123 males) Chinese university students in Hong Kong. Females were found to have significantly lower body esteem [Body Esteem Scale: S. L. Franzoi and S. A. Shields (1984) 'The Body Esteem Scale: Multidimensional Structure and Sex Differences in a College Population,' Journal of Personality Assessment, Vol. 48, pp. 173-178] and higher depression [Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale: L. S. Radloff (1977) 'The CES-D scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population,' Applied Psychological Measures, Vol. 2, pp. 385-401] when compared to males, whereas males were found to have significantly more weight dissatisfaction. No significant difference was found in the area of self-esteem [Index of Self-Esteem: W. W. Hudson (1982) Clinical Measurement Package: A Field Manual, Chicago: Dorsey]. Females desired a significantly lower ideal body mass index, whereas, males desired a significantly higher ideal body mass index. The relationship between body esteem, weight satisfaction, and self-esteem was similar for males and females; however, the relationship between body satisfaction and depression was significant only for females. Findings are compared to similar research on European American samples and implications from a cross-cultural perspective are discussed.

Data derived from in-depth telephone interviews with 300 retired workers from the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, metropolitan area are used to investigate whether preretirement self-investments in the roles of worker and spouse have positive or negative consequences for postretirement self-esteem. We find evidence that suggests that: (a) self-esteem does not decline in the transition into retirement; (b) commitment to the role of worker and worker identity meanings have a positive influence on postretirement self-esteem; but it may be indirect, operating through preretirement self-esteem; (c) commitment to the role of spouse has a positive impact on self-esteem in retirement; and (d) preretirement self-esteem continues to exert a positive effect on postretirement self-esteem. Thus, the findings suggest that preretirement self and identity factors continue to influence postretirement self-esteem.

The study investigated the effect of two multidimensional systems - namely, social setting and the self - upon adolescents' growth and development. Specifically, we hypothesized that gender differences in adult social status are greater in the kibbutz than in the Israeli urban setting, and that this gap is associated with gender differences in global self-esteem among kibbutz youth. The Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale, and scales from Marsh's Self-Description Questionnaire III and from Harter's Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents were administered to 569 kibbutz and urban adolescents from Grades 9 to 11. Data on academic achievement and parental status was also obtained. Kibbutz mothers were found to have significantly lower social status than fathers, while kibbutz girls had significantly lower self-esteem than kibbutz boys and urban adolescents of both sexes. The organization of the self-concept of kibbutz females differed from the other groups: self-esteem was predicted not only from self-concepts in the domains of scholastic achievement and peer support, but also from the domain of parental support, from academic achievement, and from father's occupational status.

Studies indicate that pregnant teenagers have lower self-esteem than their non-pregnant peers. A study was designed to assess this and to see whether ethnicity had any impact on the psyches of teen mothers. A group of 100 pregnant/parenting and not-pregnant Anglo- and African American teens was used. Results indicated an association between self-esteem and pregnancy between for Anglos which was absent for African Americans. Anglo teenagers who had never been pregnant had higher self-esteem than pregnant teens of the same race.

Data derived from in-depth telephone interviews with 818 full-time working men and women aged 58 to 64 years and residing in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina metropolitan area are used to explore the impact of socioeconomic status, health, activities, and work and spouse identities on self-esteem. Findings include the following: (a) middle-aged working women lack the material resources and status of men but do not have lower mean self-esteem scores than men; (b) different sets of social-background, activity, and worker- and spouse-identity variables influence self-esteem for men and women; but (c) identity meanings as a competent worker and a commitment to the worker role influence self-esteem for both men and women, as does commitment to the roles of worker and spouse for married men and women.