Eva C Luciano

So far, nothing is known about the life-span development of domain-specific self-esteem. In this research, we examined the trajectories of self-esteem in 11 domains, moderators of the trajectories, and the age-graded relations of domain-specific self-esteem with global self-esteem in a nationally representative Swiss sample aged 16 to 90 years (N = 1,000). In most domains, self-esteem showed life-span trajectories that were quite different from the life-span trajectory of global self-esteem. Self-esteem in the domains of physical appearance, social relations, honesty, problem solving, and academic abilities explained a large amount of variance in global self-esteem. However, the correlation between self-esteem in the domain of physical appearance and global self-esteem significantly decreased with age. Controlling for self-esteem in the domain of academic abilities altered the trajectory of global self-esteem, suggesting that self-esteem changes in this domain might account for the ...

To investigate the normative trajectory of self-esteem across the life span, this meta-analysis synthesizes the available longitudinal data on mean-level change in self-esteem. The analyses were based on 331 independent samples, including data from 164,868 participants. As effect size measure, we used the standardized mean change per year. The mean age associated with the effect sizes ranged from 4 to 94 years. Results showed that average levels of self-esteem increased from age 4 to 11 years (cumulative = 0.34; cumulative ds are relative to age 4), remained stable from age 11 to 15, increased strongly until age 30 (cumulative = 1.05), continued to increase until age 60 (cumulative = 1.30), peaked at age 60 and remained constant until age 70, declined slightly until age 90 (cumulative = 1.15), and declined more strongly until age 94 (cumulative = 0.76). Moderator analyses were conducted for the full set of samples and for the subset of samples between ages 10 to 20 years. Although t...

Tenure security is widely believed to contribute to low-income settlement development by encouraging investment in housing improvement. However, in spite of consensus about its importance, it is still unclear what tenure security exactly entails and few studies have examined how it relates to housing improvement. Using survey data from six informal neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, Argentina, we empirically test a model that specifies how the different types of tenure security that feature in academic and policy debates relate to each other, and the extent to which each predicts investment in housing improvement. We find that legal tenure security and de facto security of tenure influence investment in part through increases in perceptions of tenure security. We conclude that the hypothesized model accurately predicts investment in housing improvement and discuss how these findings inform current debates on tenure security and informality.

Dieser Bericht bietet einen Überblick über die wissenschaftlichen Erkenntnisse zur Gewaltprävention auf internationaler Ebene. Dabei wurde eine breite Definition von Gewalt angewendet, die sowohl rechtlich strafbare wie nicht strafbare und (frühe) Risikofaktoren für Gewalt beinhaltet. Der Bericht stützt einerseits auf einer Darstellung von internationalen Übersichtsstudien zur Wirksamkeit von Gewaltprävention und anderseits auf einer Recherche zur aktuellen Angebotsstruktur und Evaluationen in der Schweiz. Insgesamt wurden 26 Präventionsansätze in den Bereichen Individuum, Familie, Schule und Opferhilfe identifiziert, deren Wirksamkeit durch internationale Forschungsergebnisse untermauert wird. Jedes Kapitel vermittelt Praktikerinnen und Praktikern sowie Entscheidungsträgerinnen und -trägern einen Eindruck von den Zielen, den Programmmerkmalen und der Wirksamkeit der Ansätze. Zudem wird eine Übersicht über die schweizerische Praxis gegeben und es werden Schlussfolgerungen und Empfehlungen für mögliche weiterführende Strategien und Forschung formuliert. Obwohl in den letzten Jahren in der Schweiz erhebliche Fortschritte im Bereich Gewaltprävention erzielt wurden, ist die Wissensbasis immer noch zu dünn um eindeutige Empfehlungen zu wirksamen Programmen in der Schweiz abzugeben. Die meisten in der Schweiz angebotenen Programme wurden nicht hinsichtlich ihrer Wirksamkeit wissenschaftlich evaluiert. Der vorliegende Bericht soll die begonnene Dynamik hin zu mehr erkenntnisbasierter Gewaltprävention weiter stärken und stellt ein vorläufiger Kompass für die Präventionsarbeit dar.

Research suggests that self-esteem increases during late adolescence and young adulthood, but that there is large interindividual variability in this development. However, little is known about the factors accounting for these findings. Using propensity score matching, we tested whether important transitions in the domain of romantic relationships (i.e., beginning a relationship, marrying, and breaking up) explain why individuals differ in the particular self-esteem trajectory they follow. Data came from a longitudinal German study with a large sample of 3 nationally representative cohorts of late adolescents and young adults (total N = 9,069). The analyses were based on 4 assessments across a 3-year period. Using matched samples, the results showed that beginning a relationship increased self-esteem and that the increase persisted when the relationship held at least for 1 year. Experiencing a relationship break-up decreased self-esteem, but the effect disappeared after 1 year, even...

This meta-analysis investigated the normative development of domain-specific self-evaluations (also referred to as self-concept or domain-specific self-esteem) by synthesizing the available longitudinal data on mean-level change. Eight domains of self-evaluations were assessed: academic abilities, athletic abilities, physical appearance, morality, romantic relationships, social acceptance, mathematics, and verbal abilities. Analyses were based on data from 143 independent samples which included 112,204 participants. As the effect size measure, we used the standardized mean change d per year. The mean age associated with effect sizes ranged from 5 to 28 years. Overall, developmental trajectories of self-evaluations were positive in the domains of academic abilities, social acceptance, and romantic relationships. In contrast, self-evaluations showed negative developmental trajectories in the domains of morality, mathematics, and verbal abilities. Little mean-level change was observed ...

Research suggests that self-esteem increases during late adolescence and young adulthood, but that there is large interindividual variability in this development. However, little is known about the factors accounting for these findings. Using propensity score matching, we tested whether important transitions in the domain of romantic relationships (i.e., beginning a relationship, marrying, and breaking up) explain why individuals differ in the particular self-esteem trajectory they follow. Data came from a longitudinal German study with a large sample of three nationally representative cohorts of late adolescents and young adults (total N = 9,069). The analyses were based on four assessments across a three-year period. Using matched samples, the results showed that beginning a relationship increased self-esteem and that the increase persisted when the relationship held at least for one year. Experiencing a relationship break-up decreased self-esteem, but the effect disappeared after one year, even if the participant stayed single. Marrying did not influence self-esteem. Additionally, we tested for selection effects of self-esteem on the later occurrence of relationship transitions. High self-esteem predicted the beginning of a relationship and low self-esteem predicted relationship break-up. All findings held across gender, age, and migration background. Furthermore, relationship quality mediated the effect of self-esteem on relationship break-up and the effect of beginning a longer vs. a short relationship on self-esteem. The findings have significant implications because they show that self-esteem influences whether important transitions occur in the relationship domain and that, in turn, experiencing these transitions influences the further development of self-esteem.

We examined whether self-esteem and narcissism predict the occurrence of stressful life events (i.e., selection) and whether stressful life events predict change in self-esteem and narcissism (i.e., socialization). The analyses were based on longitudinal data from 2 studies, including samples of 328 young adults (Study 1) and 371 adults (Study 2). The effects of self-esteem and narcissism were mutually controlled for each other and, moreover, controlled for effects of depression. After conducting the study-level analyses, we meta-analytically aggregated the findings. Self-esteem had a selection effect, suggesting that low self-esteem led to the occurrence of stressful life events; however, this effect became nonsignificant when depression was controlled for. Regardless of whether depression was controlled for or not, narcissism had a selection effect, suggesting that high narcissism led to the occurrence of stressful life events. Moreover, stressful life events had a socialization e...

In a field experiment, we use a novel method to test whether instilling a greater sense of vividness of the future self motivates people to act in a more future-oriented way and reduces their delinquent involvement. We manipulate vividness of the future self by having participants, a sample of high-school youth (N = 133), “befriend” an avatar representing their future self on a social network website. For 7 days, they reply to short messages from their future self designed to trigger thinking about that distant self. Using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA), we find that participants who had been linked to their future self report less delinquent involvement, whereas controls did not. Furthermore, the results of a nonparametric bootstrapping procedure show that this effect is mediated by changes in vividness of the future self, such that increases in vividness lead to lower self-reported delinquency. We conclude that vividness of the future self holds promise not only as a cognitive explanation for the failure to make informed cost–benefit trade-offs but also for interventions aiming to reduce delinquency.

Tenure security is widely believed to contribute to low-income settlement development by encouraging investment in housing improvement. However, in spite of consensus about its importance, it is still unclear what tenure security exactly entails and few studies have examined how it relates to housing improvement. Using survey data from six informal neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, Argentina, we empirically test a model that specifies how the different types of tenure security that feature in academic and policy debates relate to each other, and the extent to which each predicts investment in housing improvement. We find that legal tenure security and de facto security of tenure influence investment in part through increases in perceptions of tenure security. We conclude that the hypothesized model accurately predicts investment in housing improvement and discuss how these findings inform current debates on tenure security and informality.