Abstract
The aim of the study was to examine the role of self-esteem in resisting the influence of materialistic goals of four social role models (mother, father, peers, and media) in adolescents (aged 13–16). Previous studies showed a negative correlation between the psychological health of teens and striving for materialistic goals, one of the main sources is the social modeling of materialism. Two studies were carried out. The first, correlational study, was conducted on target teens and their mothers, fathers, and peers of their choice. It examined if self-esteem is a moderator of the relationship between the materialism of social role models (mothers, fathers, peers, and media) and the materialism of teens. The second, experimental study, was conducted on target teens only. It examined how boosting the self-esteem of teens and activating materialism of social role models (mothers, fathers, peers, and media) may affect the materialism of teens. Study 1 showed a significant interaction effect of self-esteem and the materialism of peers on the materialism of teens. The interaction effects of self-esteem and other role models (parents and media) were not significant. Study 2 showed that elevated self-esteem lowered the influence of the materialism of peers on the materialism of teens. The results were not significant when other role models (parents and media) were analyzed. The results obtained in the presented studies indicate that the self-esteem of teens may have an important role in resisting the influence of materialism role models of peers. Practical implications of the studies for the psychological health of teens are also discussed.
Highlights
Self-determination theory holds that the importance attached to the pursuit of intrinsic and extrinsic goals is related to the wellbeing of an individual (Ryan and Deci, 2000)
Chaplin and John, 2007), and considering that materialism of teens resulting from peer rejection may be lowered when self-esteem is elevated (Jiang et al, 2015), we proposed hypothesis H2: Elevating selfesteem will reduce the influence of materialism of peers on the materialism of teens
Target self-esteem of teens was significantly negatively correlated with the materialism of mothers and materialism of peers but was not significantly related to the materialism of teens, the materialism of fathers, and media exposure
Summary
Self-determination theory holds that the importance attached to the pursuit of intrinsic and extrinsic goals is related to the wellbeing of an individual (Ryan and Deci, 2000). Teens’ Self-Esteem, Materialism Role Models the pursuit of extrinsic goals is problematic only when they are considered more important than intrinsic goals. In line with this approach, in this paper, materialism is understood as an orientation toward materialistic goals, i.e., financial success, popularity, and physical appearance, at the cost of neglecting non-materialistic goals, i.e., self-acceptance, affiliation, and community feeling; (Relative Extrinsic Versus Intrinsic Value Orientation, REIVO) (Kasser, 2002; see Kasser et al, 2014). Existing literature demonstrates that attaching excessive significance to materialistic goals and attaching greater significance to materialistic goals than intrinsic goals may cause negative consequences for physical health, psychological condition, and social wellbeing of adolescents (Kasser and Ryan, 1993; Cohen and Cohen, 1996; Williams et al, 2000; Vansteenkiste et al, 2007; Dittmar et al, 2008; Twenge et al, 2010; Kasser et al, 2014; Tsang et al, 2014; Moldes and Ku, 2020)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
