Mean-level change and intraindividual variability in self-esteem and depression among high-risk children

Abstract

This study investigated mean-level changes and intraindividual variability of self-esteem among maltreated (n=142) and nonmaltreated (n=109) school-aged children from low-income families. Longitudinal factor analysis revealed higher temporal stability of self-esteem among maltreated children compared to nonmaltreated children. Cross-domain latent growth curve models indicated that nonmaltreated children showed higher initial levels and greater increases in self-esteem than maltreated children, and that the initial levels of self-esteem were significantly associated with depressive symptoms among maltreated and nonmaltreated children. The average level (mean of repeated measurements) of self-esteem was predictive of depression at the final occasion for both maltreated and nonmaltreated children. For nonmaltreated children intraindividual variability of self-esteem had a direct contribution to prediction of depression. The findings enhance our understanding of developmental changes in self-esteem and the role of the average level and within-person variability of self-esteem in predicting depressive symptoms among high-risk children.

Longitudinal study of self-regulation, positive parenting, and adjustment problems among physically abused children

“…We also considered the possibility that changes in self-regulation and positive parenting (regardless of the levels) may be predictive of changes in adjustment outcomes. Therefore, we constructed the predictors of changes in child outcomes in two different ways: (1) average level defined as the mean of a given child's repeated measurements that represent reliable scores capturing stable, trait scores (e.g., Kim & Cicchetti, 2009; i.e., the averaging Time 1 and Time 2 scores of self-regulation and positive parenting to predict Time 2 outcome scores after controlling for Time 1 outcome scores ), and (2) change score between the two adjacent time points (i.e., subtracting Time 1 scores from Time 2 scores, thus positive scores indicate increases whereas negative scores indicate decreases). First, we tested whether changes in child maladjustment between Time 1 and Time 2 were predicted by main and interaction effects of self-regulation and positive parenting.…”

School Life and Adolescents' Self‐Esteem Trajectories

“…To achieve a proper disaggregation of these two sources of variability, growth curve models (Bollen & Curran, ; Raudenbush & Bryk, ) in which individual‐specific intercepts (representing the mean initial level of GSE), slopes (representing linear or nonlinear evolution in GSE levels), and time‐specific residuals (representing state‐like deviations in GSE levels) are needed. The few studies relying on these methods confirmed these state‐trait interpretations in showing that time‐specific levels of GSE measured over a short follow‐up period (DeHart & Pelham, ; Zeigler‐Hill & Showers, ) or properly disaggregated time‐specific residuals estimated on longer developmental periods (Baldwin & Hoffmann, ; Kim & Cicchetti, ; Molloy, Ram, & Gest, ; Morin, Maïano, Marsh, et al., ) tended to fluctuate as a function of internal or external events occurring consecutively. Finally, implicit in these studies is the relative independence of GSE mean levels and indicators of instability (e.g., Kernis, , ).…”

“…Another issue of importance is the study of youths' GSE trajectories is related to the repeated observation that GSE state‐like fluctuations are a more important predictor of adaptation than average levels of GSE (e.g., Kernis, , ; Kim & Cicchetti, ; Roberts & Monroe, , ; Zeigler‐Hill & Showers, ). However, most of these studies relied on intensive designs including multiple repeated measures taken over a relatively short period (e.g., 1–2 weeks), making it hard to generalize their results to longer time spans (e.g., Marsh, ; Ployhart & Vandenberg, ).…”

What constitutes vulnerable self-esteem? Comparing the prospective effects of low, unstable, and contingent self-esteem on depressive symptoms.

“…To describe the extent and nature of fluctuations in self-esteem, two constructs have been introduced into the literature, specifically self-esteem instability (e.g., Kernis, 2005) and self-esteem contingency (e.g., Crocker & Wolfe, 2001). Although previous studies have investigated the relations of self-esteem instability and contingency with depression (e.g., Bos, Huijding, Muris, Vogel, & Biesheuvel, 2010;Butler, Hokanson, & Flynn, 1994;Kernis et al, 1998;Kim & Cicchetti, 2009;Meier, Semmer, & Hupfeld, 2009;Roberts, Shapiro, & Gamble, 1999;Sargent, Crocker, & Luhtanen, 2006), the results of these studies are highly inconsistent, SELF-ESTEEM AND DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS 4 as we will review in detail below. Moreover, we are not aware of any study that has pitted the effects of self-esteem level, instability, and contingency on depression against each other in the context of a single study.…”