Self-esteem in early and late adolescence predicts dispositional optimism-pessimism in adulthood: A 21-year longitudinal study

A 21-year longitudinal study investigated whether self-esteem in early and late adolescence, at ages 12 and 18, and any changes in it is related to dispositional optimism-pessimism in adulthood, at the age of 33. The subjects comprised a population-based sample of young Finns. The results showed that the self-esteem measured during adolescent years is significantly associated with dispositional optimism-pessimism in adulthood accounting for 5-19% of variance (p's < .001). Further, results revealed that adolescents scoring in the top thirds of self-esteem at the age of 12 and 18 showed significantly lower levels of pessimism than those whose self-esteem had changed or stayed low during the adolescent years.