Having a lot of a good thing: multiple important group memberships as a source of self-esteem.

Jolanda Jetten,Nyla R Branscombe,Sean Murphy,Lijuan Cui,Airong Zhang,Genevieve Dingle,S Alexander Haslam,James Liu,Catherine Haslam,Tegan Cruwys,Anh Thai,Zoe Walter,Janelle M Jones

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0124609

Abstract

Membership in important social groups can promote a positive identity. We propose and test an identity resource model in which personal self-esteem is boosted by membership in additional important social groups. Belonging to multiple important group memberships predicts personal self-esteem in children (Study 1a), older adults (Study 1b), and former residents of a homeless shelter (Study 1c). Study 2 shows that the effects of multiple important group memberships on personal self-esteem are not reducible to number of interpersonal ties. Studies 3a and 3b provide longitudinal evidence that multiple important group memberships predict personal self-esteem over time. Studies 4 and 5 show that collective self-esteem mediates this effect, suggesting that membership in multiple important groups boosts personal self-esteem because people take pride in, and derive meaning from, important group memberships. Discussion focuses on when and why important group memberships act as a social resource that fuels personal self-esteem.

Highlights

A large body of work shows that people with more social group memberships have better psychological well-being, are healthier and live longer than those who belong to fewer social groups [1,2,3,4,5,6]
There was a positive correlation between the Exeter Identity Transition Scale (EXITS) measure of multiple group memberships and Personal Self-Esteem (PSE), r = .48, p = .008, indicating that the more participants agreed that they belonged to multiple groups, the higher their reported PSE
Further analyses focused on the relationship between scores on the multiple group membership scale and the groups that were listed by the participants

Summary

Introduction

A large body of work shows that people with more social group memberships have better psychological well-being, are healthier and live longer than those who belong to fewer social groups [1,2,3,4,5,6]. While this research has generated important insights, the focus on social support has steered discussion away from the potential benefits that mere belonging to important groups can provide. Even though not all group memberships function as psychological resources for their members, many do. It is only those group memberships with whom people identify—that is, those that are psychologically important and internalized as part of social identity—that have the potential to boost self-esteem. This is because it is only when group memberships are a basis for defining the self that

Results

Discussion

Conclusion