Research on the longitudinal association between self-esteem and satisfaction with social relationships led to ambiguous conclusions regarding the temporal order and strength of this relation. Existing studies have examined this association across intervals ranging from days to years, leaving it unclear as to what extent differences in timing may explain differences across studies. In the present study, we used continuous time structural equation models to examine cross-lagged relations between the constructs (i.e., CT-SEM), and also distinguished between-person differences from within-person processes (i.e., RI-CT-SEM). We analyzed 10 years of annual data from the Longitudinal Internet Studies of the Social Sciences (LISS; N = 14,741). When using CT-SEM, we found a bidirectional positive relation between self-esteem and satisfaction with social relationships, with larger effects over longer intervals. When using RI-CT-SEM, we found the largest effects of self-esteem and satisfaction with social relationships across intervals of one year, with smaller effect sizes at both shorter and longer intervals. Additionally, the effect of fluctuations in people’s satisfaction with social relationships on fluctuations in their self-esteem was greater than the reverse effect. Our results highlight the importance of considering time when examining the relation between self-esteem and interpersonal outcomes, and likely psychological constructs in general.

Stressful events are associated with various outcomes, but there is variability in these associations suggesting that the interpretation of these events is important. This interpretation is reflected in the narratives adolescents tell of events, which are largely constructed in social interactions. We examined the associations of perceived friendship quality with self-event connections and redemption in turning point narratives, in a sample of Dutch adolescents. Findings from regression analyses in a cross-sectional subsample (N = 1,087, Mage = 14.8) and a three-wave cross-lagged panel model in a longitudinal subsample (N = 186, Mage at Wave 1 = 14.7) showed that perceived friendship quality was associated with the presence of redemption sequences and self-event connections within time points, but not longitudinally.

Alice replied, rather shyly, "I-I hardly know, Sir, just at present-at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.""What do you mean by that?" said the Caterpillar, sternly. "Explain yourself!" "I can't explain myself, I'm afraid, Sir," said Alice, "because I am not myself, you see." -Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis CarrollAlice fell down the rabbit hole and was changed forevermore. She shrunk, she grew, and all in all experienced so many strange and fantastical things that she no longer felt like Alice -or at least not the Alice. In the famous story by Lewis Carroll, Alice's changing identity is central amidst curious happenstances, strange locations, and even stranger characters. In the more mundane lives of real-world youth, too, they may be able to identify moments which they believe shaped or changed them in some way or another. But to what extent does experiencing a life event or transition such as tumbling into Wonderland really impact who adolescents are as a person? And does how they process such moments matter for their broader functioning? This dissertation aimed to answer these questions, and to identify factors in the person and environment that are related to identity processes around impactful moments or that moderate the association of life events and transitions with identity. What it means to be Alice -The concept of personal identityThe question that we naturally need to answer at this point before being able to discuss change therein, is what "being Alice" means in the first place. The issue that Alice was grappling with in the books by Carroll is that of identity, and is one that she shares with other youth (Erikson, 1950(Erikson, , 1968. Identity refers to the fundamental question of who one is, and includes such questions as "What do I find important?" and "Who am I in different roles in my life?". Identity refers to the current self, but also references past (i.e., who was I before?) and future selves (i.e., who do I want to become?), and importantly, their integration. That is, in one's identity, individuals aim to create a cohesive and coherent whole of who one was,