The strength of the relationship between various measures of self, such as self-esteem, self-concept, self-acceptance, and achievement has been studied extensively with varying results (see Hansford & Hattie, 1982). This variation may be attributable to the use of different self and achievement measures, ranges in the age of those studied, and not controlling for socioeconomic status, ethnicity/race, gender, or school effects. The main goal of my thesis was to estimate the strength of the relationship between self-esteem, and achievement when gender, ethnicity/race, socioeconomic status, aspects of the parent-child relationship and school contextual effects were controlled. Analyses were conducted on two large data sets. The first was taken from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) - 1988 and consists of 21,039 grade 8 students sampled from the United States. The second data set was taken from the School-Based Prevention Project (SBPP) - 1995 and consists of 6,795 grade 8 through 12 students from 20 schools in British Columbia, Canada. For both data sets, 7 of 10 items from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (1965) were used to measure self-esteem. Analyses of the NELS data set yielded three notable findings: (1) the strength of the self-esteem/ achievement relationship is not equivalent across gender-ethnic/racial groups, (2) the self-esteem/ achievement relationship varies when grades versus tests scores are used as achievement measures, and (3) the variability in self-esteem is largely within-schools. Variables controlled in these analyses were gender, ethnicity/race and socioeconomic status. Analyses of the SBPP data yielded four notable findings: (1) the strength of the self-esteem/ achievement relationship varies across a new measure of coping styles, (2) relational factors reduce the strength of the self-esteem/achievement relationship, (3) relational factors explain much more of the variance in self-esteem than does achievement, and (4) almost all the variance in self-esteem is within schools. Variables controlled in these analyses included gender, grade-level, socioeconomic status, perceptions of Mother's and Father's love, and coping styles. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed in terms of attachment theory (Ainsworth, 1969), coping styles (Horney, 1950), and the need to belong (Baumeister & Leary, 1995).

This study examined the levels of collective and personal self-esteem as well as the relationships between parental communications and self-esteem in college students in Japan (N= 260) and the U.S. (N= 286). The results showed that the U.S. students reported significantly higher collective self-esteem and higher personal self-esteem than did the Japanese students. Parental communications related to self-esteem differently among Japanese and the U.S. students. Japanese students who had more open communications with their mothers had higher collective and personal self-esteem, whereas those who had more open communications with their fathers had higher personal self-esteem. In contrast, for the U.S. students, more open communications with either their mothers or fathers was associated with both higher personal and collective self-esteem. / Department of Psychological Science

The strength of the relationship between various measures of self, such as self-esteem, self-concept, self-acceptance, and achievement has been studied extensively with varying results (see Hansford & Hattie, 1982). This variation may be attributable to the use of different self and achievement measures, ranges in the age of those studied, and not controlling for socioeconomic status, ethnicity/race, gender, or school effects. The main goal of my thesis was to estimate the strength of the relationship between self-esteem, and achievement when gender, ethnicity/race, socioeconomic status, aspects of the parent-child relationship and school contextual effects were controlled. Analyses were conducted on two large data sets. The first was taken from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS) - 1988 and consists of 21,039 grade 8 students sampled from the United States. The second data set was taken from the School-Based Prevention Project (SBPP) - 1995 and consists of 6,795 grade 8 through 12 students from 20 schools in British Columbia, Canada. For both data sets, 7 of 10 items from the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (1965) were used to measure self-esteem. Analyses of the NELS data set yielded three notable findings: (1) the strength of the self-esteem/ achievement relationship is not equivalent across gender-ethnic/racial groups, (2) the self-esteem/ achievement relationship varies when grades versus tests scores are used as achievement measures, and (3) the variability in self-esteem is largely within-schools. Variables controlled in these analyses were gender, ethnicity/race and socioeconomic status. Analyses of the SBPP data yielded four notable findings: (1) the strength of the self-esteem/ achievement relationship varies across a new measure of coping styles, (2) relational factors reduce the strength of the self-esteem/achievement relationship, (3) relational factors explain much more of the variance in self-esteem than does achievement, and (4) almost all the variance in self-esteem is within schools. Variables controlled in these analyses included gender, grade-level, socioeconomic status, perceptions of Mother's and Father's love, and coping styles. The theoretical implications of these results are discussed in terms of attachment theory (Ainsworth, 1969), coping styles (Horney, 1950), and the need to belong (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (D. Min.)--Boston University, 2001. / Abstract. Date on title page differs from degree date. Degree awarded, 2001. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-194).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.) Kinesiology and Health Studies--University of Central Oklahoma, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-69).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Boston University, 2001. / Abstract. Date on title page differs from degree date. Degree awarded, 2001. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-194).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Boston University, 2001. / Abstract. Date on title page differs from degree date. Degree awarded, 2001. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-194).

Thesis (M.Ed. )--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 2006. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2759. Typescript. Abstract precedes thesis as 2 leaves (i-ii). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-52).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.