Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The transition between childhood and adolescence poses multiple challenges to the adolescent in terms of identity-building and gaining autonomy from his or her parents, as well as developing a multitude of new relationships with his or her peers. One of the critical developmental tasks that needs to be mastered is the successful acquisition of academic credentials. The degree to which this specific challenge is met can be crucial in determining future success in the labor market as well as influencing one’s psychological well-being. Empirical studies on the determinants of academic performance have identified a wide range of predictors of academic achievement, one of the strongest being self-esteem. In a recent attempt to enhance the predictive value of self-esteem theory, Ervin and Stryker (2001) have attempted to integrate the fundamental concepts of identity theory (i.e. social network commitments, identity salience and role performance) in a general model of self-esteem and identity processes. After a short review of the literature on the role of academic achievement in adolescence, this paper presents the theoretical foundations of the model and illustrates how the latter could be tested by predicting school performance of foster children in Indiana, a group considered to be at a high risk for both low academic achievement and a wide array of psychological and mental health problems.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Sociologists and developmental psychologists alike have often noted that adolescence is a time when youth experience significant changes in their identities and beliefs about themselves In this critical developmental stage, one essential component of an individuals? self-concept is self-esteem One of the primary social realms in which these changes occur is the school, as attested to by the volume of research on self-esteem?s influences and consequences on school related behaviors and outcomes.

In this analysis, we examine changes in self-esteem at a particularly vulnerable point in adolescents? psychological, social, and academic development: the transition into high school. Previous research has shown that this transition point can be particularly difficult for adolescents However, as yet no research has examined whether changes in self-esteem across the transition to high school are predictive of changes in other outcomes. That is, we extend research on self-esteem and its effects by conceptualizing the construct as a proximate determinant of academic and behavioral outcomes, rather than treating it as only one of a set of outcomes.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: number of psychological outcomes, this study seeks to assess the role of (perceptions of) neighborhood disorder and objective levels of neighborhood poverty in influencing individuals’ self-reported self-esteem. Utilizing a series of structural equation models and data from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality, this paper lends support to perceived neighborhood disorder as the mediating factor in the relationship between neighborhood poverty and self-esteem. Resident perceptions of neighborhood physical disorder are shown to be significantly related to self-esteem and to physical health, however, perceptions of physical disorder prove to be unrelated to civic engagement, which, in turn, has no statistically significant relationship to self-esteem. This research supports prior theory that has suggested that blighted and decaying urban neighborhoods are read as disinvestments both by residents and by city governments, and therefore, these images are internalized and incorporated into residents’ psychological makeup.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This exploratory study analyzed competitive adolescent female athletes’ use and perceived influence of thin-ideal media, sports media, and the perceived influence of outside sources such as friends, parents and school on body self-esteem. We also examined the length of time participants reported competing in at least one sport and examined how or if this related to higher or lower body self-esteem. In this survey of 84 8-18-year-old female athletes, we found overall body self-esteem to be quite high, but found that athletes in specific sports (golf, volleyball, and soccer) were much more likely to have a more positive outlook on their body shape than athletes in other sports such as gymnastics. Thin-ideal television viewing was not related to body self-esteem at all; however, thin-ideal magazine reading was significantly related to lower body self-esteem. Participants who indicated the media were responsible for helping them become the girls they were today were much more likely to have lower body self-esteem than participants who felt parents or school were more influential. These and other findings are discussed.

Publication Type: Poster
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of the relationships between gender role attitudes, gender self-esteem, and relationship power in women in heterosexual marriages. Private gender self-esteem was a significantly greater predictor of relationship control power in comparison to gender role attitudes, after controlling for demographic variables.