Structural Relations of Personal and Collective Self-Esteem to Subjective Well-Being: Attachment as Moderator

A model indicating that the relationship between collective self-esteem and indicators of subjective well-being, happiness and life satisfaction, was mediated by personal self-esteem was tested by structural equation modeling. The model, including all participants, fitted well to the data. The results suggested that the relationship of collective self-esteem to happiness was fully mediated by personal self-esteem, whereas a partial mediation was the case for life satisfaction. When tested in four groups of attachment styles, however, the results indicated a full mediation for fearful, preoccupied and dismissing groups, but a partial mediation for the secure group. The results are discussed in the “pursuing self-esteem” framework.

[1]  R. Ashmore,et al.  An organizing framework for collective identity: articulation and significance of multidimensionality. , 2004, Psychological bulletin.

[2]  K. Vohs,et al.  Contingencies of Self-Worth and Self-Validation Goals: Implications for Close Relationships. , 2006 .

[3]  K. Deaux,et al.  Relationship between social and personal identities: Segregation or integration. , 1996 .

[4]  P. Shaver,et al.  Attachment, self-esteem, worldviews, and terror management: evidence for a tripartite security system. , 2005, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[5]  E. Deci,et al.  Avoiding death or engaging life as accounts of meaning and culture: comment on Pyszczynski et al. (2004). , 2004, Psychological bulletin.

[6]  J. Crocker,et al.  Do people need self-esteem? Comment on Pyszczynski et al. (2004). , 2004, Psychological bulletin.

[7]  J. Crocker,et al.  Collective Self-Esteem and Psychological Well-Being among White, Black, and Asian College Students , 1994 .

[8]  J. Edwards,et al.  Methods for integrating moderation and mediation: a general analytical framework using moderated path analysis. , 2007, Psychological methods.

[9]  Daniel Liechty.  Reaction to Mortality: An Interdisciplinary Organizing Principle for the Human Sciences , 1998 .

[10]  M. Rosenberg.  Society and the adolescent self-image , 1966 .

[11]  R. Larsen,et al.  The Satisfaction with Life Scale , 1985, Journal of personality assessment.

[12]  D. Watson,et al.  Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. , 1988, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[13]  J. Crocker,et al.  A Collective Self-Esteem Scale: Self-Evaluation of One's Social Identity , 1992 .

[14]  David De Cremer,et al.  Collective self-esteem, personal self-esteem, and collective efficacy in in-group and outgroup evaluations , 1999 .

[15]  Richard E. Lucas,et al.  Subjective Weil-Being: Three Decades of Progress , 2004 .

[16]  Anthony G. Greenwald,et al.  Motivational Facets of the Self , 1986 .

[17]  H. Tajfel.  Human Groups and Social Categories: Studies in Social Psychology , 1981 .

[18]  Tom Pyszczynski,et al.  Why Do We Need What We Need? A Terror Management Perspective on the Roots of Human Social Motivation , 1997 .

[19]  Kennon M. Sheldon,et al.  The benefits of a "sidelong" approach to self-esteem need satisfaction: comment on Crocker and Park (2004). , 2004, Psychological bulletin.

[20]  D. Griffin,et al.  The metaphysics of measurement: The case of adult attachment. , 1994 .

[21]  P. Shaver,et al.  Attachment theory and intergroup bias: evidence that priming the secure base schema attenuates negative reactions to out-groups. , 2001, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[22]  J. Crocker,et al.  Attachment Styles and Contingencies of Self-Worth , 2004, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[23]  Anthony G. Greenwald,et al.  TO WHOM IS THE SELF PRESENTED , 1985 .

[24]  M. Mikulincer,et al.  Adult attachment style and affect regulation: strategic variations in self-appraisals. , 1998, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[25]  K. Bartholomew,et al.  Attachment styles among young adults: a test of a four-category model. , 1991, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[26]  H. Tajfel.  Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations , 1982 .

[27]  T. Joiner,et al.  Membership in a Devalued Social Group and Emotional Well-Being: Developing a Model of Personal Self-Esteem, Collective Self-Esteem, and Group Socialization , 2002 .

[28]  H. Tajfel,et al.  An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. , 1979 .

[29]  Kim Gregory.  Who is this , 2011 .

[30]  Kathleen D. Vohs,et al.  Self and relationships : connecting intrapersonal and interpersonal processes , 2006 .

[31]  E. Diener,et al.  Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem. , 1995, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[32]  Nebi Sümer,et al.  Psychometric evaluation of adult attachment measures on Turkish samples and a cross-cultural comparison , 1999 .

[33]  Jeff Schimel,et al.  Why do people need self-esteem? A theoretical and empirical review. , 2004, Psychological bulletin.

[34]  M. Mikulincer,et al.  Adult attachment style and affect regulation: strategic variations in subjective self-other similarity. , 1998, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[35]  M. Brewer,et al.  Who is this "We"? Levels of collective identity and self representations. , 1996 .

[36]  Karl G. Jöreskog,et al.  Lisrel 8: Structural Equation Modeling With the Simplis Command Language , 1993 .

[37]  V. Vignoles,et al.  Beyond self-esteem: influence of multiple motives on identity construction. , 2006, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[38]  C. Marmarosh.  Social identity, the pursuit of possible selves, and psychological adjustment: Comment on Cameron (1999). , 1999 .

[39]  John G. Corazzini,et al.  Putting the group in your pocket: Using collective identity to enhance personal and collective self-esteem. , 1997 .

[40]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[41]  J. Cameron.  Social identity and the pursuit of possible selves: Implications for the psychological well-being of university students. , 1999 .

[42]  J. Greenberg,et al.  Evidence for terror management theory: I. The effects of mortality salience on reactions to those who violate or uphold cultural values. , 1989, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[43]  S. Worchel,et al.  The Social psychology of intergroup relations , 1979 .

[44]  J. Crocker,et al.  The costly pursuit of self-esteem. , 2004, Psychological bulletin.

[45]  R. Baumeister,et al.  The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. , 1995, Psychological bulletin.

[46]  B. Flay,et al.  The healthy pursuit of self-esteem: comment on and alternative to the Crocker and Park (2004) formulation. , 2004, Psychological bulletin.

[47]  Jeff Schimel,et al.  To belong or not to belong, that is the question: terror management and identification with gender and ethnicity. , 2002 .

[48]  Nancy Dorr,et al.  Collective Self-Esteem as a Mediator of the Relationship between Allocentrism and Subjective Well-Being , 1997, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[49]  Mauricio Carvallo,et al.  No Man Is an Island: The Need to Belong and Dismissing Avoidant Attachment Style , 2006, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[50]  E. Hill,et al.  The Effect of Parental Supportive Behaviors on Life Satisfaction of Adolescent Offspring , 1995 .