School of Communication, The Ohio State University, 3127 Derby Hall, 154 North Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210-1339, USA.
J Pers. 2012 Oct;80(5):1453-69. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2012.00781.x.
The self-esteem movement has been around since the 1970s, and may have influenced how much value people place on self-esteem. We predicted a negative relationship between age and the amount of value placed on self-esteem boosts. We also investigated the correlates of liking versus wanting self-esteem boosts (and other pleasant rewards) on depression. A nationally representative sample of American adults (N = 867) indicated how much they liked and wanted several pleasant rewards (i.e., sex, food, alcohol, money, friendship, self-esteem boost). They also completed a standardized measure of depressive symptoms. As expected, there was a negative relationship between age and valuing self-esteem boosts, sex, and alcohol. People with depressive symptoms wanted self-esteem boosts, even though they did not like them very much. Similar effects were obtained for depressive symptoms and alcohol and friendship. This is the first research to show that self-esteem boosts are more valued among a nationally representative sample of younger American adults. It also is the first research to explore the association between depression and the motivation to boost self-esteem. People with depressive symptoms want self-esteem, and may pursue it, but this pursuit may feel unrewarding because they do not derive pleasure from it.
自尊运动始于 20 世纪 70 年代，可能影响了人们对自尊的重视程度。我们预测年龄与对自尊提升的重视程度之间呈负相关。我们还调查了喜欢和想要自尊提升（和其他愉快奖励）与抑郁的相关性。一项具有全国代表性的美国成年人样本（N=867）表明他们对几种愉快奖励（即性、食物、酒精、金钱、友谊、自尊提升）的喜欢程度和想要程度。他们还完成了一项标准化的抑郁症状测量。正如预期的那样，年龄与重视自尊提升、性和酒精之间存在负相关。有抑郁症状的人想要自尊提升，即使他们不是很喜欢。抑郁症状和酒精以及友谊也有类似的效果。这是第一项研究表明，在具有全国代表性的年轻美国成年人样本中，自尊提升更受重视。这也是第一项研究探索抑郁与提升自尊的动机之间的关系。有抑郁症状的人想要自尊，并且可能会追求它，但这种追求可能会让人感到没有回报，因为他们从中没有获得乐趣。
