Abstract
Adolescence is a complex period, in which the individual is subject to profound emotional, physical, and psychological changes. Healthy development during adolescence is crucial for future positive development; self-esteem and life satisfaction are fundamental. The importance of sociodemographic variables (sex and age), empathy, and emotional intelligence (EI) on self-esteem and life satisfaction was studied, comparing complementary methodologies, regression models, and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) models. This is a cross-sectional design in a convenience sample of 991 adolescents (528 females, 53.3%; aged between 12 and 19 years; M = 14.01, SD = 1.40) from Spanish schools. Data were collected using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), the Basic Empathy Scale (BES), and Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS)24. The results of the regression models suggest that cognitive empathy, emotional clarity, and emotional repair are the main predictor variables for self-esteem. Meanwhile, the results of the fsQCA suggest that being older and low levels of cognitive empathy, emotional clarity, and emotional repair predict higher levels of self-esteem. On the other hand, life satisfaction in regression models is significantly predicted by the emotional clarity and emotional repair dimensions of the TMMS24 and self-esteem. Meanwhile, in the prediction of life satisfaction, the results of the fsQCA suggest that the most important interactions were high emotional clarity, emotional repair, and low self-esteem. As research has already shown, promoting empathy and EI leads to higher levels of self-esteem and life satisfaction.
Highlights
Adolescence is a complex period in which the individual is subject to profound emotional, physical, and psychological changes (Fonagy et al, 2004; Bucchianeri et al, 2013; Normandin et al, 2015; Powers and Casey, 2015)
When evaluating the effect of sociodemographic variables, empathy, emotional intelligence (EI), and self-esteem on the life satisfaction of adolescents, the criterion variable was the life satisfaction of adolescents and the predictor variables were sociodemographic variables, dimensions of the Basic Empathy Scale (BES), TMMS24, and global self-esteem according to Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES)
Sociodemographic variables were included in the first step, the two dimensions of the BES questionnaire were included in the second step, the three dimensions of TMMS24 were included in the third step, and global self-esteem was included in the last step
Summary
Adolescence is a complex period in which the individual is subject to profound emotional, physical, and psychological changes (Fonagy et al, 2004; Bucchianeri et al, 2013; Normandin et al, 2015; Powers and Casey, 2015). Within positive or healthy development, there appears to be some agreement on the importance of both self-esteem and well-being in general (Alfaro et al, 2015) In this respect, adequate self-esteem is important since self-esteem influences the way of perceiving and evaluating oneself. Adequate self-esteem is important since self-esteem influences the way of perceiving and evaluating oneself It is defined as confidence in oneself, in one’s values or abilities (McCrae and Costa, 2012), and is considered a protective factor in adolescence since it contributes to preserving one’s biological, psychological, and social well-being (Alvarez Aguirre et al, 2010). Healthy self-esteem is considered a protective factor in life and is essential in adolescence, as it influences human motivation and is associated with a wide range of desirable outcomes (Pyszczynski et al, 2004): general psychological adjustment, positive emotion, social confidence, and prosocial behavior among others (Brown and Ryan, 2003; Leary and MacDonald, 2003; Pepping et al, 2013)
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