Narrative Agency and Communion as Predictors of Trait and State Self-Esteem Dynamics

Self-esteem has important implications for life outcomes, yet little is known about its antecedents at both the trait and state levels. We examined agency and communion-coded from personal narratives about a past turning-point event-as predictors of trait self-esteem levels, long-term trait changes, and short-term fluctuations (instability) in state self-esteem.

We used data from a 5-wave intensive longitudinal study of Dutch master's students (N = 281, M_age = 24.5, 75% females) over a 2-year period, tracking their university-to-work transition. Participants completed a questionnaire and 14-day experience sampling assessments at each wave. Mixed-effects location scale models were used.

Agency and communion were positively associated with self-esteem at the beginning of the transition. While communion did not predict instability in state self-esteem, we found some evidence for agency negatively predicting self-esteem instability across days but not across moments. Results neither revealed differences in trait changes as a function of agency or communion nor significant heterogeneity in change trajectories overall. Agency appeared more frequently in students' narratives compared to communion.

Results suggest that agentic but not communal narratives negatively predict daily self-esteem instability during the work transition but provide limited insight into momentary self-esteem instability and trait changes.