A Study of the Measure of Instability of Self-esteem

Abstract

A useful method for measuring the instability of self-esteem was investigated. State self-esteem was rated once a day for seven days using e-mail (Study 1: N=124) or web applications (Study 2: N=122) by mobile phone. In addition, the participants were administered inventories to measure their experience of events and multiple moods. The results indicate that state self-esteem increased in relationship to positive events and mood, and decreased in relationship to negative events and mood. In Study 2, among the participants with stable self-esteem, those with low levels of self-esteem had higher depression than those with high self-esteem. However, those relationships were not found for participants with unstable self-esteem. Thus, the method used in this study is useful for measuring the instability of self-esteem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]