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Age differences in instability, contingency, and level of self-esteem across the life span
Journal
Journal of research in personality
Volume
45
Number
6
Pages / Article-Number
604-612
Keywords
Self-esteem, Instability and contingency of self-esteem, Age differences, Life span, Big Five personality traits
Abstract
We investigated age differences in instability, contingency, and level of self-esteem from age 13 to 72 years, using data from 1386 individuals who participated in a diary study over 25 days. Instability and contingency of self-esteem decreased from adolescence to old age, whereas level of self-esteem increased. Big Five personality traits predicted the level, but not the slope, of the trajectories of self-esteem characteristics. Age differences in self-esteem characteristics did not merely reflect age differences in instability and level of positive and negative affect. Finally, self-esteem characteristics showed a stable pattern of interrelations across the life span. Overall, the findings suggest that people's self-esteem tends to become better adjusted-i.e., more stable, less contingent, and higher across the life course. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
