TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2011//
TI  - Delighted when approved by others, to pieces when rejected: children's social anxiety magnifies the linkage between self- and other-evaluations
JO  - Journal of child psychology and psychiatry
A1  - Reijntjes, Albert
A1  - Thomaes, Sander
A1  - Boelen, Paul
A1  - Orobio de Castro, Bram
A1  - Telch, Michael J.
SP  - 774
EP  - 781
VL  - 52
IS  - 7
N2  - Background:  Socially anxious children tend to attach great importance to others' evaluations of them. However, the extent to which they base their momentary feelings of self-worth (i.e., state self-esteem) on social (dis)approval is unclear. It is also unclear whether this exceedingly approval-based self-esteem is a common correlate of social anxiety and depression, or specifically linked to one or the other. Methods:  Changes in children's state self-esteem were obtained in response to a manipulated peer evaluation outcome. Participants (N = 188) aged 10 to 13 took part in a rigged online computer contest and were randomized to receive positive or negative peer feedback. Self-reported state self-esteem was assessed via computer at baseline and immediately post-feedback. The predictive effects of self-reported social anxiety and depression symptoms on changes in state self-esteem were investigated. Results:  Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that children with higher social anxiety, as indexed by the fear of negative evaluation component, experienced significantly stronger increases in state self-esteem following peer approval (β = .26, p < .05), and significantly stronger decreases in state self-esteem following peer disapproval (β =-.23, p < .05). In both conditions depressive symptoms did not predict changes in state self-esteem (ps > .20). Conclusions:  Socially anxious children's state self-esteem is strongly contingent on social approval. Because basing one's self-esteem on external validation has multiple negative consequences, these findings highlight the importance of teaching these children skills (e.g., making cognitive reappraisals) to weaken the linkage between other- and self-evaluations.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0021-9630
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2010.02325.x
ID  - ref1
ER  -