The dynamics of self-esteem in adults over a 6-month period: an exploratory study.
In this exploratory study, the authors examined the dynamics of self-esteem in 8 adults over a 6-month period. Each participant (M age = 29.4 years, SD = 7.9, SEM = 2.8) completed a single item from the Physical Self Inventory (G. Ninot, M. Fortes, & D. Delignières, 2001) using a 10-cm visual analog scale (horizontal line), twice a day between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. and between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. Time series analyses, including autocorrelation and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) procedures, showed that global self-esteem dynamics were neither stable, stationary, nor random. The ARIMA procedures indicated that this perceived dimension functioned as a moving average (0, 1, 1) without a significant constant, thus suggesting a short-term dynamic adjustment. This pattern is a typical signature of a complex system submitted to several constraints and not an indication of personality trait or state.
Ninot
Grégory
G
Laboratory Symbolic Processes for Health and Sport, University of Montpellier I, France. gregory.ninot@univ-montp1.fr
Fortes
Marina
M
Delignières
Didier
D
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012649:Self Concept; D013269:Stochastic Processes; D013997:Time Factors