A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between adolescent alcohol involvement and self-esteem

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant correlation between adolescent alcohol involvement and self-esteem and if there was, which variable was antecedent. A group of seventh graders were followed and assessed in 7th (N = 82), 8th (N = 60), 9th (N = 40), and 12th (N = 45) grades using the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) and the Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale (AAIS). Pearson - R correlation coefficients were calculated each year of the study to determine if there was a statistically significant negative correlation between the AAIS scores and the SEI scores and the SEI subscale scores at any one time. To determine which variable was the antecedent, cross lag panel correlations were examined between all six pairs of grades (7-8, 7-9, 7-12, 8-9, 8-12, and 9-12). Only the scores of the subjects who were present in both pairs of years in each comparison were used. The subjects\u27 scores on the AAIS showed an increasing trend from grade 7 to grade 12 by both males and females with gender differences in grade 9 where females reported higher levels of alcohol use. The SEI scores of both males and females followed an increasing trend from grade 7 to grade 12 with gender differences in grades 8, 9 and 12. In these three grades the female SEI scores were significantly lower than those of their male classmates. The calculation of the initial sets of correlation coefficients revealed that there were significant negative correlations between the AAIS scores and the total SEI scores and several of the subscale scores in grades 7, 8 and 9 but not 12. The cross lag correlations suggested that variation in self-esteem scores precedes inverse variation in alcohol involvement scores. In particular, lowered self-esteem as measured by the Peer, School and Self subscales on the SEI preceded higher levels of alcohol involvement. The one exception to this was for eighth grade boys where higher use of alcohol preceded lowered school self-esteem in grade 9. Based on the findings of the study, implications for the prevention and treatment of alcohol abuse were discussed. Recommendations for further study were also made