2 DIMENSIONS OF SELF-ESTEEM - RECIPROCAL EFFECTS OF POSITIVE SELF-WORTH AND SELF-DEPRECATION ON ADOLESCENT PROBLEMS

The presumed relationship between adolescent's self-esteem and the occ urrence of social problems is a recurring theme in academic and public discourse. Evidence for this relationship is limited by an overrelian ce on global measures of self-esteem that combine positive and negativ e self-evaluations in a single measure. My study uses this prior resea rch on the relationship of global measures of self-esteem to adolescen t social problems as a comparative reference point for an analysis of the link between negative and positive self-worth and youth problems. Using nonrecursive linear structural equation models and data from the Youth in Transition study, I compare the reciprocal interrelations of self-deprecation (negative self-evaluations), positive self-worth (po sitive self-evaluations), and global self-esteem (which includes both positive and negative evaluations) on high school grades, depression, and delinquency. I find that when self-deprecation and positive self-w orth measures are employed, nuances are revealed that were previously overlooked in studies relying exclusively on global self-esteem. For e xample, I find a powerful reciprocal causal relationship between self- deprecation and depression and an effect of self-deprecation and posit ive self-worth on grades in school. These findings encourage theoretic al developments of a bidimensional construct to measure self-esteem th at includes, in particular self-deprecation.