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The Developmental Costs of High Self‐Esteem for Antisocial Children
Author(s) -
Me Madhavi,
Tobin Desiree D.,
Corby Brooke C.,
Me Meenakshi,
Hodges Ernest V. E.,
Perry David G.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01089.x
Subject(s) - disposition , psychology , aggression , self esteem , developmental psychology , cognition , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , medicine , environmental health
Two hypotheses—high self‐esteem leads children to act on antisocial cognitions (disposition‐activating hypothesis) and high self‐esteem leads children to rationalize antisocial conduct (disposition‐rationalizing hypothesis)—were investigated in two longitudinal studies. In Study 1 ( N = 189; mean age = 11.1 years), antisocial behavior was aggression; in Study 2 ( N = 407; mean age = 10.8 years) it was avoidance of the mother. In both studies, there was little evidence for the disposition‐activating hypothesis but considerable support for the disposition‐rationalizing hypothesis. Over time, aggressive children with high self‐esteem increasingly valued the rewards that aggression offers and belittled their victims, and avoidant children with high self‐esteem increasingly viewed their mother as harassing and uninvolved. For antisocial children, high self‐esteem carries costs.