The longitudinal interplay of self-esteem, social relationships, and academic achievement during adolescence: Theoretical notions and bivariate meta-analytic findings

Abstract

Self-esteem and social relationships have been recognized as key socio-emotional predictors of diverse life-outcomes in adolescence and beyond. Despite such recognitions, fairly little is known about their longitudinal interplay with academic variables and thus, to what degree educational outcomes are interrelated with these socio-emotional dynamics during adolescence. Whereas the interplay between self-esteem and social relationships is already well documented in developmental and personality psychological research, the goal of the current paper is to extend this bivariate picture by including the educational perspective. Specifically, the aim of the current study is twofold: From a theoretical point of view, we aim to integrate developmental, differential, and educational concepts to emphasize the importance of a joint consideration of self-esteem, social relationships, and academic achievement during adolescence. Empirically, we aim to present a meta-analytic overview on existing longitudinal studies to illustrate the current knowledge and highlight remaining research gaps in the current adolescent literature. We conclude by outlining important directions for future research.