Second Annual

Whether addressed in schools, with families, or in a counseling session, the psychological concept of self-esteem appears quite common in the world today. Due to its importance in society, the study of self-esteem (its antecedents and its components) has merit. Through the empirical study of self-esteem, potential exists for acquiring significant and important knowledge regarding its components, qualities, and relationships. However, due to ethical concerns, the most feasible method of study in this area is correlational analysis. Through the processes of replication and repetition, people may begin to understand the complexities of self-esteem with more clarity. Regarding the antecedents and components of self-esteem, past research suggests strong positive correlations between self-esteem and interpersonal relationships (Sears, 1970; Thomas & Sanandaraj, 1985). A study conducted by Sears (1970) indicated positive correlations between self-esteem and the following variables: (a) high reading and math achievement; (b) small family size; (c) early ordinal position in the family; and (d) high parental warmth (Sears, 1970). For boys, results also indicated a positive correlation between low father dominance in the marital relationship and self-esteem. High femininity was negatively correlated with self-esteem in bot