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The social context of adolescent self-esteem

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Abstract

The global self-esteem of adolescents was examined in relation to two aspects of their daily lives: (a) the perceived quality of their relationships with parents and peers; and (b) their self-evaluation in the areas of school, popularity, and athletics. The quality of relationships with parents made significant contributions to the explained variance in self-esteem of both boys and girls. The quality of peer relationships made a significant additional contribution for girls but not boys. The importance of parent and peer relationships to self-esteem did not vary as a function of age for either sex. Self-evaluation of popularity was related to girls' global self-esteem, while evaluation of school performance was more important for boys.

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Received her Ph.D. from George Peabody College. Research interests include adolescent stress and coping, and parent-child relationships.

Received his M.D. from Medical College of Georgia. Research interests include stress, eating disorders, and pregnancy in adolescents.

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Walker, L.S., Greene, J.W. The social context of adolescent self-esteem. J Youth Adolescence 15, 315–322 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02145728

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02145728

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