Moderating Impact of Interpersonal Stress on Adolescent Anxiety and Self-Esteem

Pien, Daniel W; Young, Jami; Hankin, Benjamin

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/100080 Copy

Description

Title

Moderating Impact of Interpersonal Stress on Adolescent Anxiety and Self-Esteem

Author(s)

• Pien, Daniel W
• Young, Jami
• Hankin, Benjamin

Contributor(s)

Long, Erin

Issue Date

2018

Keyword(s)

• Psychology
• anxiety
• adolescence
• interpersonal stress
• self-esteem

Abstract

Background Social anxiety (SA) is prevalent during adolescence, with a median age of onset of 13 years. Adolescents become more sensitive to others’ social evaluation, which impacts their self-esteem (SE). Studies suggest that SA negatively affects adolescents’ SE. Given the relevance of interpersonal relationships and conflict in adolescent anxiety and SE, this study seeks to clarify the potential moderating effect of interpersonal stress (IS) on the relationship between anxiety and SE. Methods A community sample of 681 youth (M=11.8, SD=2.4; 55% female) completed repeated self-report measures of SA, SE, and IS over a 3-year longitudinal study. Measures were taken at baseline (T1) and 36 months later (T2). We ran a series of regressions to examine whether the relationship between SA and SE was moderated by IS. We controlled for baseline SE in each model, and included age and gender as covariates. Results SA at T1 did not predict SE at T2 (β=.117, p=.206). Interpersonal stress at T1 significantly predicted SE at T2 (β=.204, p=.013); however, the effect disappeared once age and gender were added to the model (β=.136, p=.099). Age (β=-.162, p<.001) and gender (β=-.113, p=.005) significantly predicted SE at T2. The interaction of SA and interpersonal stress was not significant (β=-.136, p=.288). Conclusions Age and gender predicted SE. Specifically, older participants’ and girls’ SE increased from T1 to T2. Future studies should examine the relationships between IS, SA, and SE at multiple developmental stages. Additionally, future work should examine gender differences in self-esteem.

Type of Resource

image

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/100080

Copyright and License Information

• Copyright 2018 Daniel Pien
• Copyright 2018 Jami Young
• Copyright 2018 Benjamin Hankin

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