The Relationship Between Self-Esteem and Anxiety in Grades Four Through Eight

Abstract

This study examined the relationships between two measures of self-esteem and each of two measures of general anxiety and test anxiety in a sample of 4,367 pupils, grades four through eight. Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) was used to assess self-esteem. Sarason's General Anxiety Scale for Children (GASC) and Test Anxiety Scale for Children (TASC) were employed to measure anxiety. There were statistically significant negative correlations between the measure of self-esteem and each of the measures of general anxiety and test anxiety when scores were analyzed by total group, grade level, and sex. Although these correlations tended to be low to moderate (-.24 to -.42), they were consistent in suggesting a negative relationship between a measurable construct of self-esteem with each of the corresponding constructs of general and test anxiety. The implications tend to support the possibility of reducing anxiety in elementary and junior high school age pupils by enhancing the way in which they see themselves.