Changes in self-esteem during the middle school years: a latent growth curve study of individual and contextual influences

Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) techniques were used to explore interactions among individual and contextual variables and their effects on initial self-esteem levels and changes in these levels across the three years of middle school in a large, diverse sample ( N=1804 students attending 23 scho...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of school psychology Vol. 42; no. 3; pp. 243 - 261
Main Authors Rhodes, Jean, Roffman, Jennifer, Reddy, Ranjini, Fredriksen, Katia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2004
Elsevier
Subjects
Context Effect
Individual Development
Low Income Groups
Middle school
Middle School Students
Minority Group Children
Racial Differences
School Psychology
Self Esteem
Social Class
Social congruity
Socioeconomic Status
Student Diversity
White Students
Middle school
Social congruity
Self-esteem
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) techniques were used to explore interactions among individual and contextual variables and their effects on initial self-esteem levels and changes in these levels across the three years of middle school in a large, diverse sample ( N=1804 students attending 23 schools). Interactions among race, social class, school socioeconomic status (SES), and contextual congruity were found to be particularly influential. Low-income European-American youth consistently experienced the lowest self-esteem levels and the sharpest declines during middle school. Social incongruity appears to play a crucial role in predicting such losses. These results highlight the need for further research employing similar techniques to explore how individual and contextual factors affect the development of self-esteem over the middle school years.
ISSN:0022-4405
1873-3506
DOI:10.1016/j.jsp.2004.04.001