Self-esteem and Life Satisfaction among University Students

Abstract

The achievement of personal goals and aspirations affect a person’s self-esteem and will critically determine the person’s psychosocial well-being. Being acutely aware of one’s intrinsic strengths and positive traits defines one’s self-esteem. This awareness results in present good experiences instead of negative thoughts becoming the focal point. The sum total of good experiences will result in better life satisfaction. It is found that self-esteem is an important determinant of one’s life satisfaction because of the close relationship between the two, with demographic characteristics, social relationships, and personality being the other determinants. This study aims to investigate the relationship between self-esteem and life satisfaction among Psychology Program students in a university in Sabah. The two instruments used in this study were Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). A total of 243 Psychology Program students participated in this study. The results indicated that there was a large positive relationship between self-esteem and life satisfaction among the Psychology Program students. However, there were no significant differences between self-esteem and life satisfaction based on gender, age, and year of study. Thus, increased self-esteem is crucially important as it would directly increase life satisfaction regardless of gender, age and year of study.