Exploring the impact of negative and positive self-talk in relation to loneliness and self-esteem in secondary school-aged adolescents

The effect of negative and positive self-talk in relation to loneliness and self-esteem is an under-researched area when associated with adolescence. Self-talk has been understood to assist in the construction of self-concept (Jemmer, 2009), and adolescence is a prevalent stage for this development (Hoover, Oliver & Hazler, 1992). Specifically, negative self-talk has been considered to play a role in the maintenance of anxiety (Yaratan & Yucesoylu, 2010) and depression (Cole, Maxwell, Dukewhich & Yosick, 2010). Moreover, positive self-talk has been associated with self-esteem improvement (Brinthaupt & Dove, 2012). The current study aimed to explore if negative and positive self-talk could also predict peer loneliness and self-esteem. In association with previous research two hypotheses were devised: H1 - peer loneliness will be predicted by negative and positive self-talk; and H2 - self-esteem will be predicted by negative and positive self-talk. The participants (n=113) were male and female adolescents. In part the hypotheses were supported; negative self-talk predicted peer loneliness but positive self-talk did not. It emerged that socially threatening self-talk was a significant predictor of loneliness. Both positive and negative self-talk predicted self-esteem; however, personal failure self-talk significantly predicted low self-esteem. These findings could be implicated in therapeutic work for adolescents which directly targets peer-loneliness and self-esteem