Is the well-being of a society dependent on the well-being of its citizenry? Does individual self-esteem play a causal role in chronic social problems such as child abuse, school drop-out rates, teenage pregnancy, alcohol and drug abuse, welfare dependency? In an attempt to answer these questions, the State of California established a task force on self-esteem and social responsibility in 1987. The aim of this body was to determine what connections might exist between these two factors and to suggest policy guidelines relating to the welfare of Californians and to the expenditure of public resources. The ten essays in this volume, prepared by faculty members of the University of California, draw on research in the social and behavioral sciences to explore these issues. They assess the substantive assertions and research findings in the field and make careful evaluations of their reliability and validity. In many cases strong connections between self-esteem and problematic behavior are established, in others the connections are weak, and in some the causal relationship is, as yet, imperfectly understood. One of the conclusions of the book is that research on these issues needs to be improved, particularly in the areas of comparative and longitudinal studies. Guidelines for future research are suggested, and some points of policy direction are elaborated. These essays may indeed promote additional research, for the premise that social stability and welfare are largely dependent on the psychological state of a people poses a challenging and provocative counter-emphasis to the assumption that social institutions are the primary determinants of individual welfare.

Self-esteem is an academic and popular phenomenon, vigorously researched and debated, sometimes imbued with magical qualities, other times vilified as the bane of the West's preoccupation with self. Though thousands of articles have been devoted to the topic, and bookshops work to feed the public's appetite for advice on revealing, enhancing and maintaining self-esteem, conflicting claims and findings have placed the field in disarray. In a very real sense, self-esteem is a victim of its own popularity. This book seeks to add clarity to a concept earlier examined by such notable self theorists as Morris Rosenberg but eminently worthy of re-examination and extension. We do this by asking some leading thinkers on self-esteem theory, measurement and application to assess what we know about self-esteem, and link it to important aspects of society and the human experience.

In this edited collection a distinguished set of contributors present a broad overview of psychological research on self-esteem. Each chapter is written by leading experts in the field, and surveys current research on a particular issue concerning self-esteem. Together, the chapters provide a comprehensive overview of one of the most popular topics in psychology. Each chapter presents an in-depth review of particular issues concerning self-esteem, such as the connection that self-esteem has with the self-concept and psychological adjustment. A number of further topics are covered in the book, including: How individuals pursue self-esteem The developmental changes in feelings of self-worth over the life span. The existence of multiple forms of high self-esteem The role that self-esteem plays as an interpersonal signal The protective properties associated with the possession of high self-esteem This collection of state-of-the-art reviews of key areas of the psychological literature on self-esteem will be of great interest to researchers, and academics, and also to graduate and advanced undergraduate students of social psychology.

The relationship between self-esteem and body image has been well-established such that low levels of self-esteem have been found to be associated with body image concerns. The authors review previous research on the link between low self-esteem and body image concerns and then discuss more recent research concerning the importance of contingent self-esteem in this connection. The next chapter provides a discussion on the commonness of body dissatisfaction among contemporary Western young women and suggests re-embodiment as a means of transforming this experience. Chapter 3 explores the relationship between appearance satisfaction emotional overeating, experiences of racism and BMI among Black and African American women. Ethnic identity plays an important role in the self-concept related to feelings and attitudes. Chapter 4 explores the ethnic differences in self-esteem and body image among adolescents, as well as the need to address ethnicity in prevention programs. The remaining chapters of the book focus on body image in adolescent pregnancy; magazine image influence, extraversion and body image in college males; sociocultural factors, body image factors and self-esteem on school-age males and females, the perception of self-image in older people and how it changes throughout life; an examination of how the way woman perceive themselves influences the psychosexual impact on quality of life; and finally, how people can improve or develop a healthier investment in appearance.

Challenging current notions in self-esteem literature, this volume offers new insights into efficacy, agency, and self-esteem as well as the influence of these constructs on psychological well-being. The contributions by prominent researchers contain substantial new theoretical and empirical research that focuses on a wide range of personality and motivational phenomena.

Summarizing and integrating the major empirical research of the past twenty years, this volume presents a thorough review of the subject, with a special focus on what sets people with low self-esteem apart from others. As the subject is central to the understanding of personality, mental health, and social adjustment, this work will be appreciated by professionals and advanced students in the fields of personality, social, clinical, and organizational psychology.

Many psychologists would agree that most emotional and behavioural problems are essentially social and interpersonal problems. Not only are psychological difficulties typically caused or maintained by interpersonal processes, but problems typically manifest themselves in the course of personal relationships. Many emotional and behavioural problems are rooted in normal interpersonal processes - precisely the processes that social psychology describes. This work documents the rich interplay between social and clinical psychology in theory and research.