Fragile self-esteem in children and its associations with perceived patterns of parent-child communication

We examined the extent to which 11- to 12-year-old children's (N = 174) sel f-esteem (SE) stability and level related to their perceptions of various a spects of parent-child communication. Compared to children with stable SE, children with unstable SE reported that their fathers were more critical an d psychologically controlling, and less likely to acknowledge their positiv e behaviors or to show their approval in value-affirming ways. Likewise, ch ildren with low SE reported that their fathers exhibited these qualities to a greater extent than did children with high SE. In addition, fathers of c hildren with stable high SE were viewed as especially good at problem servi ng. Children's SE level related to perceptions of mothers' communication st yles very similarly to how it did with fathers'; with respect to SE stabili ty, however, relationships were generally less consistent and frequently ab sent. Discussion centered on the role of parent-child communication in prom oting unstable SE.