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This research was funded by grants from the Health Research Council of New Zealand, the National Child Health Research Foundation, the Canterbury Medical Research Foundation and the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board.
Self-esteem is the subject of a voluminous and growing literature, encompassing a wide range of issues and approaches. Although it would prove very difficult indeed to arrive at a consensus definition of self-esteem, it seems apparent that many researchers regard it as a form of evaluation of the self that guides future behavioral choice and action (e.g., Baumeister, 1998, 1999; Leary & Baumeister, 2000; Tesser, 2001, 2004). The focus of much of the self-esteem literature has been on the relationship between self-esteem and functioning across a variety of domains (Andrews, 1998; Banaji & Prentice, 1994; Baumeister, 1999; Emler, 2001; Tesser, 2001), with links established between low self-esteem and a range of outcomes, including mental illness (e.g., Markowitz, 2001; Nezlek, Kowalski, Leary, Blevins, & Holgate, 1997; Tennen & Affleck, 1993), substance abuse (e.g., Guglielmo, Polak, & Sullivan, 1985; Higgins, Clough, & Wallerstedt, 1995; Leary, Schreindorfer, & Haupt, 1995; Unger, Kipke, Simon, Montgomery, & Johnson, 1997), suicidal behavior (e.g., Groholt, Ekeberg, Wichstrom, & Hadorsen, 2000; McGee & Williams, 2000; Overholser, Adams, Lehnert, & Brinkman, 1995; Van Gastel, Schotte, & Maes, 1997; Wild, Flisher, & Lombard, 2004), and social and adjustment problems (e.g., Crocker & Luhtanen, 2003; Longmore, Manning, Giordano, & Rudolph, 2004; Rosenberg, Schooler, & Schoenbach, 1989; Voss, Markiewicz, & Doyle, 1999). A potential explanation for these pervasive associations is that it is possible that self-esteem plays a causal role in life outcomes, with an individual's level of self-esteem being critical in determining success and failure across a range of life tasks (e.g., Andrews, 1998; Harter, 1993, 1999). The aim of the present investigation was to examine the putative causal role of self-esteem in the domains of mental health, substance use, and life and relationship satisfaction, using data gathered from a longitudinal, prospective birth cohort. The investigation examined whether self-esteem in midadolescence was related to later mental health, substance use, and life and relationship outcomes.
In terms of specific outcomes, it has been observed that low self-esteem is related to problems in a number of domains. One such domain is mental health. A number of...