Adolescent Social Goal Development: Mean-Level Changes and Prediction by Self-Esteem and Narcissism

We examined mean-level social goal development among peers during middle school, and self-esteem and narcissism as predictors of trait-like goal orientations across time. Survey data were collected on three occasions, in two middle schools in Finland (N = 384; 12-14 years; 53% girls). As expected, average increases in agentic-communal goals (reflecting prosocial self-assertion, or consideration of the self and others) and decreases in submissive-separate (isolation) goals were observed over time. Also, despite cross-sectional (concurrent) links from self-esteem to social status goals among peers reported in prior research, only narcissism was associated with increases in agentic (status) and agentic-separate (dominance) goals and decreases in goals of communal nature, whereas self-esteem was associated with increases in agentic-communal goals alone. Our findings align with and are discussed in the context of existing research on adolescent personal and social development. The findings provide among the first evidence for normative social goal development during middle school, and have implications for understanding self-esteem and narcissism in adolescent development: whereas narcissism is positively related to status and dominance goal development, self-esteem is only related to development of goals high in agentic and communal orientation, reflecting consideration of the self as well as others.