Self-Esteem Links in Families with 12-Year-Old Children and in Separated Spouses

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Abstract
The aim of the present study is to map associations of self-esteem in families with 12-year-old children and in separated spouses. The authors assessed self-esteem using the Harter Self-Perception Profile for Adults (B. Messer & S. Harter, 1986) and the Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children (S. Harter, 1988 Harter, S. 1988. Manual for the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents, Denver, CO: University of Denver. [Google Scholar] ; L. Wichstrom, 1995 Wichstrom, L. 1995. Harter's Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents: Reliability, validity, and evaluation of the question format. Journal of Personality Assessment, 65: 100–116. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ) in (a) 1,236 pairs of spouses and their 12-year-old children and (b) 159 pairs of ex-spouses. The authors found links for all aspects of self-esteem for married and cohabiting spouses in contrast with ex-spouses who lacked such associations. Ex-spouses had a lower global self-worth than did married and cohabiting spouses. The authors also found parent–child associations for self-esteem. Girls resembled their mothers' global self-worth more than their fathers' and more than the boys. Family members manifest similar levels of self-esteem. The spouses’ similarity can be due to assortative mating, a convergence over time, or both. For children, environmental influence in the family context can contribute to the formation of self-esteem. The stronger mother–girl link suggests that maternal identification of self-esteem is an environmental factor for girls in particular.

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