Premium
Are self‐esteem and academic achievement reciprocally related? Findings from a longitudinal study of Mexican‐origin youth
Author(s) -
Zheng Lucy R.,
Atherton Olivia E.,
Trzesniewski Kali,
Robins Richard W.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/jopy.12550
Subject(s) - self esteem , psychology , academic achievement , test (biology) , longitudinal study , ethnic group , developmental psychology , self concept , paleontology , statistics , mathematics , sociology , anthropology , biology
Objective Previous research has shown that self‐esteem is associated with academic achievement. However, few studies have used longitudinal data to examine how self‐esteem and achievement co‐develop over a long time span, and even fewer have focused on ethnic minority youth. Method We used data from a longitudinal study of Mexican‐origin youth ( N = 674) to examine the bidirectional associations between self‐esteem and academic achievement from 5th to 11th grade. Global and domain‐specific self‐esteem (academic, honesty, peer relationships, appearance) were assessed at ages 10, 12, 14, and 16 using Marsh et al.'s (2005) Self‐Description Questionnaire. Academic achievement was assessed at the same ages using self‐reported grades and standardized test scores from school records. Results Youth with high global and academic self‐esteem showed relative improvements in their grades (but not test scores), and youth who received higher grades and test scores showed relative increases in global and academic self‐esteem. Youth with high honesty self‐esteem showed relative increases in grades and test scores, and youth with higher grades showed relative increases in peer relationship self‐esteem. Conclusion Students who feel better about themselves tend to show improvements in their grades, and getting better grades and test scores promotes more positive self‐views.