ABSTRACT
What are the burning questions that we still face as researchers? First, there are demonstrated individual differences in the behaviorally manifest levels of self-esteem in young children and we do not yet fully appreciate the causes. How much of high or low self-esteem do children bring into the world by virtue of their temperament and talents, their genetic makeup, and how do these interact with parental responses to these clearly demonstrated tendencies? How can we get past the “blame-game” in which parents are made to feel guilty, if their children are manifesting deficiencies that are associated with low behaviorally manifest self-esteem. We also need more studies on how early child-rearing impacts young children’s self-esteem since the manner in which parental figures socialize their children must also impact the early behavioral manifestations of self-esteem that adult observers reliably report.
