Positive self-esteem has been found to be associated with effective problem-solving, while negative self-esteem is associated with variety of dysfunctional behaviors. It is the purpose of this study to assess the impact of perceived parental self-esteem and power bases on adolescent self-esteem. Following the direction suggested by Modeling Theory, two basic hypotheses are addressed: (1) The greater the perceived self-esteem of the parent, the greater the self-esteem of the adolescent. (2) The greater the power of the more powerful parent, the greater the modeling of the adolescent's self-esteem after the perceived self-esteem of that parent. / A purposive subsample of 219 high school age students enrolled in a developmental research school responded to a self-report questionnaire. The responses were analyzed, utilizing zero-order correlations and multiple regression analysis. The major findings were: (1) Adolescent self-esteem is positively associated with parental self-esteem. (2) Modeling of perceived maternal self-esteem, when the mother is the most powerful parent, is inversely related to her outcome-control, legitimate, expert bases of power and positively associated with the father's legitimate power and actual use of authoritative control. (3) Modeling of paternal self-esteem, when the father is the more powerful parent, is related positively with maternal expert power, paternal legitimate power, father's occupational status and age of the adolescent. An inverse association was found between maternal legitimate power, as well as the number of older brothers the adolescent had. / Discussion: Although it appears that adolescents do, in fact, model their self-esteem after the perceived self-esteem of their parents, a social power theory of modeling does not adequately explain the findings. Apparently the types and extent of the power bases of the less powerful parent makes a substantial contribution to the modeling process. Additionally, the direction of the association between parental power and modeling in the affective realm is not consistently positive, as was predicted. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-10, Section: A, page: 4606. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74637 |
| Contributors | CORNILLE, THOMAS ALFRED., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 228 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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