Parental Influences on Adolescent Self-Esteem

Keywords

Parental influence, Adolescent Self-Esteem, social learning, interactions

Abstract

Two contemporary theoretical explanations of adolescent self-esteem, symbolic interaction and social learning, were investigated and compared. Special attention focused on the relative effect of selected variables, representing each explanation, on four dimensions of self-esteem. A stratified random sample of 184 families with adolescents provided self-report data. Multiple regression and bivariate analysis resulted in evidence for the general conclusion that: (1) adolescent self-esteem was more a function of the reflected appraisal of the parents than it was of adolescence modeling their parents' self-esteem; and (2) female adolescents were more likely to be influenced by their parents then were male adolescents. In addition, the study suggests that when researchers investigate adolescent self-esteem, it is essential that they take into account it's various dimensions, as well as the sex of the parent and the adolescent.

Original Publication Citation

"Parental Influences on Adolescent Self-Esteem," Journal of Early Adolescence 4 (3):259-274 (with K. Openshaw and B. Rollins).

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

1984

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/8448

Publisher

Journal of Early Adolescence

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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