Cherish yourself: longitudinal patterns and conditions of self-esteem change in the transition to young adulthood

Several recent studies have illustrated a general increase in self-esteem from after adolescence until midlife. However, the specific pattern and possible conditions of self-esteem development from the important transition out of high school into young adulthood are still not well understood. In a longitudinal study (Transformation of the Secondary School System and Academic Careers; TOSCA), German students were interviewed 4 times beginning with their senior high school year (at Time 1 [T1]: N = 4,532; age: M = 19.6 years, SD = 0.9; 55% female). Conditional latent change models were applied and established 3 main findings. First, self-esteem showed a gradual increase across the transition, with both the self-esteem intercept and slope indicating substantial interindividual variability in the transition to young adulthood. Second, structural (having a partnership) as well as personality (Big Five) characteristics were substantially related to self-esteem development in emerging adulthood. Third, there were gender-specific associations between self-esteem and partnership status as well as between self-esteem and neuroticism and agreeableness. Findings point to a general upward development of self-esteem yet show interdependencies with the accomplishment of age-specific challenges in the transition to young adulthood.