ABSTRACT
Is self-esteem central to functioning? An initial examination of the self-esteem literature suggests that it is. Research has linked low self-esteem with a wealth of negative emotions and behaviors, including anxiety, loneliness, jealousy, unsafe sex, teenage pregnancy, criminal behavior, eating disorders, substance abuse, depression, and membership in deviant groups (Leary, Schreindorfer, & Haupt, 1995). People with low self-esteem seem to be less resilient than people with high self-esteem, as they have fewer domains from which to self-affirm when threatened (Spencer, Josephs, & Steele, 1993). Low self-esteem may even carry negative consequences in relationships: people with low self-esteem may mistakenly perceive rejection where it does not exist and may overly scrutinize problems with their romantic partners (Murray, Rose, Bellavia, Holmes, & Kusche, 2002). Similarly, rejection apparently affects people with low self-esteem more strongly than it affects people with high self-esteem (Sommer & Baumeister, 2002), and even ambiguous cues about social situations may prime rejection for people with low (but not high) self-esteem (Koch, 2002).
