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Cited by 238Psychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionPersonality Traits and PsychologySocial and Intergroup Psychology

Self-esteem and subjective well-being revisited: The roles of personal, relational, and collective self-esteem

Open access
Du, Hongfei, King, Ronnel B., Chi, Peilian·2017·PLOS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0183958PMC PMC5571946
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Abstract

Previous studies have shown that self-esteem is an important predictor of subjective well-being. However, the majority of research has focused on self-esteem at the individual and the collective level, but has mostly ignored self-esteem at the relational level. According to social identity theory, individuals can maintain and enhance self-esteem through personal traits (personal self-esteem, PSE), relationships with significant others (relational self-esteem, RSE), and relationships with larger groups (collective self-esteem, CSE). The current research investigated whether RSE and CSE can predict subjective well-being beyond PSE among Chinese college students. With four cross-sectional studies and one longitudinal study (N = 847), we found that, when controlling for PSE, RSE was associated with greater life satisfaction, positive affect, meaning in life, happiness, and subjective vitality (Studies 1-5), but CSE was not (Studies 2-5). Implications are discussed.

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

Across five studies with Chinese college students, relational self-esteem (RSE) predicted greater subjective well-being beyond personal self-esteem (PSE), whereas collective self-esteem (CSE) generally did not. The authors conclude that RSE is especially salient for well-being in this collectivist context.

Key findings

  • With four cross-sectional studies and one 1-month longitudinal study (reported total N = 847), RSE was associated with greater life satisfaction, positive affect, meaning in life, happiness, and subjective vitality when controlling for PSE (Studies 1–5); CSE was not a significant predictor in Studies 2–5, except a marginal association with meaning in life in Study 2 (β = .14, p = .08).
  • In Study 1, after entering PSE, RSE predicted life satisfaction (β = .40, p < .001), positive affect (β = .34, p < .001), and meaning in life (β = .27, p < .001); PSE was no longer significant for life satisfaction (β = .13) and acted as a suppressor for positive affect (β = −.21, p < .05).
  • In Study 2, RSE predicted subjective vitality (β = .36, p < .001) and meaning in life (β = .26, p < .01), while CSE was nonsignificant for vitality (β = .10) and marginal for meaning (β = .14, p = .08).
  • In Study 5, T2 RSE marginally predicted T2 life satisfaction after controlling for T1 life satisfaction (β = .20, p = .057), while T2 PSE (β = .03) and T2 CSE (β = .08) were not significant; T1 RSE showed a negative suppression effect (β = −.30, p ≤ .05).

Methods

  • Design: four cross-sectional surveys (Studies 1–4) and one 1-month longitudinal survey (Study 5), all with college students in Macau, China; Study 5 final Time 2 sample was 74 participants.
  • Measures: PSE via Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale; RSE via Relational Self-Esteem Scale; CSE via Collective Self-Esteem Scale adapted to Macau-resident identity (Studies 2–3, 5) or Chinese identity (Study 4); outcomes included life satisfaction, positive affect, meaning in life, subjective vitality, and happiness.
  • Analysis: hierarchical regressions testing incremental variance from RSE and CSE after PSE, with independent/interdependent self-construal as covariates in Studies 3–4; Study 5 controlled for Time 1 life satisfaction. Tolerance statistics were > .28 across all five studies, indicating no multicollinearity problem.

Limitations

  • The paper states the data are correlational and cannot establish causal relations; reverse causality remains possible, and future longitudinal and experimental work is needed.
  • The paper states reliance on college students’ self-reports of RSE and CSE; future research should gather information from close others, classmates, and teachers.
  • The paper states that multiple well-being indicators were correlated, so prediction of one indicator may partly reflect shared variance with another; future studies should control for shared variance (e.g., using structural equation modeling). Evident from the text: samples were Chinese college students in Macau, limiting generalizability, and CSE was operationalized only as Macau-resident or Chinese identity.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.1371/journal.pone.0183958

Cites

55 of 55 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

0 of 58 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Findingown data

    In Study 1, RSE was a significant predictor of positive affect.

    “RSE was also a significant predictor of positive affect and meaning in life, suggesting that people with high RSE experienced more positive affect and purpose in life.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    In Study 3, relational self-esteem was positively associated with life satisfaction.

    “RSE was also positively associated with both life satisfaction and happiness.”
    • Also stated in: § Results and discussion · hedged
      “Results of Study 3 indicated that people with high PSE and RSE reported more life satisfaction, but this effect was not observed for CSE.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    In Study 2, CSE showed only a marginally significant association with meaning in life.

    “In contrast, CSE showed only a marginally significant association with meaning in life and no significant association with subjective vitality.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Findingown data

    In Study 5, Time 1 relational self-esteem became a significant predictor of Time 2 life satisfaction in the regression model.

    “In addition, we also observed that T1 RSE became a significant predictor of T2 life satisfaction.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
  • Findingown data

    In Study 4, personal self-esteem was associated with positive affect.

    “First, we found that PSE was associated with both life satisfaction and positive affect.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 2
  • May combine two claims. 24
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 26

  • The quote only partly states this claim.

    Findingown data

    In Study 5, Time 1 personal, relational, and collective self-esteem were not significant predictors of Time 2 life satisfaction in Step 1.

    “As shown in Step 1, the T1 variables predicted T2 life satisfaction, although only T1 life satisfaction was a significant predictor.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In Study 3, personal self-esteem was positively associated with happiness, and this association remained significant when relational and collective self-esteem were included in the regression model.

    “As can be seen in Table 6, PSE was positively associated with both life satisfaction and happiness, and these effects were still significant when RSE and CSE were introduced in the regression model.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    When controlling for personal self-esteem, relational self-esteem was positively associated with life satisfaction (Studies 1, 3 and 4), positive affect (Studies 1 and 4), meaning in life (Studies 1 and 2), and happiness (Study 3).

    “Specifically, when controlling for PSE, RSE was positively associated with life satisfaction (Studies 1, 3 and 4), positive affect (Studies 1 and 4), meaning in life (Studies 1 and 2), and happiness (Study 3).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • The quote only partly states this claim.

    Findingown data

    In Study 4, personal self-esteem remained a significant predictor of life satisfaction and positive affect after relational and collective self-esteem were introduced in the regression.

    “PSE was still a significant predictor after RSE and CSE were introduced in the regression.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In Study 3, personal self-esteem was positively associated with life satisfaction, and this association remained significant when relational and collective self-esteem were included in the regression model.

    “As can be seen in Table 6, PSE was positively associated with both life satisfaction and happiness, and these effects were still significant when RSE and CSE were introduced in the regression model.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In our study, personal self-esteem was not associated with life satisfaction when controlling for relational and collective self-esteem; instead, relational self-esteem emerged as a stronger predictor (Studies 1, 2, and 5).

    “Interestingly, in our study, PSE was not associated with life satisfaction when controlling for RSE and CSE; instead, RSE emerged as a stronger predictor (Studies 1, 2, and 5).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Collective self-esteem was not associated with subjective well-being across the four studies, with a possible exception that it was marginally associated with meaning in life in Study 2.

    “In contrast to PSE and RSE, CSE was not associated with subjective well-being across the four studies (perhaps an exception is that CSE was marginally associated with meaning in life in Study 2).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    According to social identity theory, the collective is an essential aspect of the self, and therefore evaluation of the collective self would contribute to subjective well-being.

    “According to social identity theory [28], the collective is an essential aspect of the self, and therefore evaluation of the collective self would contribute to subjective well-being.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [28] H Tajfel, 2010, I6. Instrumentality, identity and social comparisons, Social identity and intergroup relations

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Individuals who have a secure attachment with their parents had higher levels of psychological well-being.

    “Numerous studies have also shown that individuals who have a secure attachment with their parents had higher levels of psychological well-being [36, 37].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites [36] S Madigan, 2013, Attachment and internalizing behavior in early childhood: A meta-analysis, Developmental Psychology source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [37] S Pallini, 2014, Early child–parent attachment and peer relations: A meta-analysis of recent research, Journal of Family Psychology source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Self-esteem can be derived from both the personal self and the social self.

    “According to social identity theory, self-esteem can be derived from both the personal self and the social self [16].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [16] H Tajfel, 1982, Social psychology of intergroup relations, Annu Rev Psychol source

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  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    RSE pertains to self-worth derived from one's relationships with significant others such as family and friends.

    “RSE pertains to self-worth derived from one's relationships with significant others such as family and friends [19, 20].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites [19] S Harter, 1998, Relational self-worth: Differences in perceived worth as a person across interpersonal contexts among adolescents, Child Development source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [20] H Du, 2012, The development and validation of the Relational Self-esteem Scale, Scandinavian Journal of Psychology source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Self-esteem is associated with meaning in life.

    “Self-esteem was also found to be associated with other indicators of subjective well-being, such as positive and negative affect [13], meaning in life [14], and subjective vitality [15].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [14] MF Steger, 2006, The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life, Journal of Counseling Psychology source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Self-esteem is associated with subjective vitality.

    “Self-esteem was also found to be associated with other indicators of subjective well-being, such as positive and negative affect [13], meaning in life [14], and subjective vitality [15].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [15] RM Ryan, 1997, On energy, personality, and health: Subjective vitality as a dynamic reflection of well‐being, Journal of personality source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    CSE mediated the relation between allocentrism and subjective well-being among U.S. college students.

    “Bettencourt and Dorr [29] showed that CSE mediated the relation between allocentrism (defined as individual differences in collectivism) and subjective well-being among U.S. college students.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [29] BA Bettencourt, 1997, Collective self-esteem as a mediator of the relationship between allocentrism and subjective well-being, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    If the relational self is an important aspect of one's selfhood, then one's evaluation of the relational self should be related to subjective well-being.

    “Based on social identity theory [28], if the relational self is an important aspect of one’s selfhood, then one’s evaluation of therelational self should be related to subjective well-being.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [28] H Tajfel, 2010, I6. Instrumentality, identity and social comparisons, Social identity and intergroup relations

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    PSE is implicated when people derive their sense of self-worth from their personal attributes such as their abilities and talents.

    “PSE is implicated when people derive their sense of self worth from their personal attributes such as their abilities and talents [1].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [1] M Rosenberg, 1965

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  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Self-esteem, defined as a person's sense of self-worth, is closely associated with well-being and a number of other adaptive outcomes.

    “Researchers have found that self-esteem—defined as a person's sense of self-worth—is closely associated with well-being and a number of other adaptive outcomes.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 5 sources checked
    • cites [1] M Rosenberg, 1965

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [2] MR Leary, 2000, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology

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    • cites [3] T Pyszczynski, 2004, Why do people need self-esteem: A theoretical and empirical review, Psychological Bulletin source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [4] J Crocker, 2004, The Costly Pursuit of Self-Esteem, Psychological Bulletin source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [5] AG Greenwald, 1995, Implicit social cognition: Attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes, Psychol Rev source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    When controlling for PSE, the association between CSE and well-being varied by ethnic group: nonsignificant for Whites, small for Blacks, and moderate to strong for Asians.

    “Indeed, they found that CSE was positively associated with well-being among White, Black, and Asian college students in the United States; however, when controlling for PSE, the relationship of CSE with well-being became nonsignificant for Whites, small for Blacks, and moderate to strong for Asians [27].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [27] J Crocker, 1994, Collective self-esteem and psychological well-being among White, Black, and Asian college students, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    The social self can be differentiated into the relational self and the collective self.

    “Under the social self, we can further differentiate between the relational and the collective self [17, 18].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites [17] MB Brewer, 1996, Who is this&quot; We&quot;? Levels of collective identity and self representations, J Pers Soc Psychol source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [18] C Sedikides, 2001, Individual Self, Relational Self and Collective Self

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    CSE was positively associated with well-being among White, Black, and Asian college students in the United States.

    “Indeed, they found that CSE was positively associated with well-being among White, Black, and Asian college students in the United States; however, when controlling for PSE, the relationship of CSE with well-being became nonsignificant for Whites, small for Blacks, and moderate to strong for Asians [27].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [27] J Crocker, 1994, Collective self-esteem and psychological well-being among White, Black, and Asian college students, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The three types of self-concept (personal, relational, collective) are empirically distinguishable from each other and have distinct effects on a wide range of psychological phenomena.

    “Numerous studies have shown that these three types of self-concept are empirically distinguishable from each other and have distinct effects on a wide range of psychological phenomena [8, 18].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites [8] C Sedikides, 2013, A three-tier hierarchy of self-potency: Individual self, relational self, collective self, Advances in experimental social psychology source

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    • cites [18] C Sedikides, 2001, Individual Self, Relational Self and Collective Self

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  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    CSE pertains to self-worth derived from membership in larger social groups.

    “CSE pertains to self-worth derived from membership in larger social groups [21, 22].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites [21] J Crocker, 1990, Collective self-esteem and ingroup bias, J Pers Soc Psychol source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [22] R Luhtanen, 1992, A collective self-esteem scale: Self-evaluation of one&apos;s social identity, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    CSE is predictive of subjective well-being, but the prediction is rather weak when controlling for PSE among both Westerners and Asians.

    “These findings suggest that CSE is predictive of subjective well-being, but the prediction is rather weak when controlling for PSE among both Westerners and Asians.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductreasoning

    In Study 2, 6 participants with low identification were excluded to minimize the impact of identification on the relationship between CSE and subjective well-being.

    “To minimize the impact of identification on the relationship between CSE and subjective well-being, we excluded 6 participants with low identification (i.e., participants who indicated that they didn’t identify themselves as Macau residents; identification values < 3).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductreasoning

    In Study 5, the effects of Time 1 well-being on Time 2 well-being were controlled.

    “Therefore, in this study we also controlled for the effects of Time 1 well-being on Time 2 well-being.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    The associations between RSE and well-being indicators held even when controlling for PSE.

    “One of the few studies that directly examined RSE found that RSE was correlated with multiple indicators of well-being (e.g., positive affect, meaning in life, depression) and these associations held even when controlling for PSE [39].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [39] H Du, 2014, Relational self-esteem, psychological well-being, and social support in children affected by HIV, Journal of Health Psychology

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    Premisecitation

    Nationality is one of the most common group identities identified in previous research.

    “Nationality is one of the most common group identities identified in previous research [21].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [21] J Crocker, 1990, Collective self-esteem and ingroup bias, J Pers Soc Psychol source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    The positive association of personal self-esteem with subjective well-being is in line with previous findings showing that people high in self-esteem tend to report stronger life satisfaction, positive affect, meaning in life, and subjective vitality.

    “The positive association of PSE with subjective well-being is in line with previous findings [9, 13–15, 54] showing that people high in self-esteem tend to report stronger life satisfaction, positive affect, meaning in life, and subjective vitality.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 5 sources checked
    • cites [9] E Diener, 1995, Cross-Cultural Correlates of Life Satisfaction and Self-Esteem, J Pers Soc Psychol source

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    • cites [13] RW Robins, 2001, Measuring global self-esteem: Construct validation of a single-item measure and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin source

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    • cites [14] MF Steger, 2006, The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life, Journal of Counseling Psychology source

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    • cites [15] RM Ryan, 1997, On energy, personality, and health: Subjective vitality as a dynamic reflection of well‐being, Journal of personality source

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    • cites [54] H Cai, 2009, Is self-esteem a universal need? Evidence from The People&apos;s Republic of China, Asian Journal of Social Psychology source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    The pursuit of self-worth through one's relationships with significant others might make people feel more positive and happy and be more satisfied with their lives.

    “RSE was found to be positively associated with different aspects of subjective well-being, suggesting that the pursuit of self-worth through one's relationships with significant others might make people feel more positive and happy and be more satisfied with their lives.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    When the prior level of an outcome is not statistically accounted for, evidence of prospective effects can be confounded by concurrent relations between constructs, and estimates of prospective effects might be misleading.

    “When the prior level of an outcome (e.g., well-being) is not statistically accounted for, the evidence of prospective effects can be confounded by the concurrent relations between the constructs. Estimates of prospective effects might be somewhat misleading [52].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [52] SE Finkel, 1995

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  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    In Study 5, participants high in relational self-esteem reported greater life satisfaction, whereas collective self-esteem was a nonsignificant predictor of life satisfaction.

    “Overall, the findings of Study 5 replicated what we found in Studies 1–4: participants high in RSE reported greater life satisfaction, whereas CSE was a nonsignificant predictor of life satisfaction.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductown data

    In Study 5, all measures showed acceptable reliabilities with Cronbach's alphas > .74.

    “All the measures showed acceptable reliabilities with Cronbach’s alphas > .74, as shown in Table 9.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductreasoning

    In Study 5, after excluding incomplete and invalid responses, the final sample at Time 2 was 74 participants.

    “Hence, the final sample was 74 participants at the Time 2 point.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductnone given

    Study 5 adopted a longitudinal design, which addressed the methodological limitations of previous cross-sectional studies.

    “Third, Study 5 adopted a longitudinal design, which addressed the methodological limitations of previous cross-sectional studies.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    PSE and relationship harmony had an additive effect on predicting life satisfaction.

    “Kwan and her colleagues [38] found that PSE and relationship harmony had an additive effect on predicting life satisfaction.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [38] VSY Kwan, 1997, Pancultural explanations for life satisfaction: Adding relationship harmony to self-esteem, J Pers Soc Psychol source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    The findings of Study 4 conceptually replicated and extended the findings of Studies 1-3.

    “These findings conceptually replicated and extended the findings of Studies 1–3: Participants with high RSE reported greater life satisfaction and more positive affect.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Across the five studies, both personal self-esteem and relational self-esteem are positive predictors of subjective well-being.

    “Both PSE and RSE are positive predictors of subjective well-being, and it seems that RSE is more salient compared to PSE at least in the collectivist Chinese context.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    The study on RSE was conducted with a sample of vulnerable children (children affected by parental HIV) so that the findings may not necessarily be generalizable to other populations.

    “However, a shortcoming of this study was that it was conducted with a sample of vulnerable children (i.e., children affected by parental HIV) so that the findings may not necessarily be generalizable to other populations.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    The five studies consistently demonstrated that self-esteem at the relational level (but not the collective level) is robustly related to subjective well-being.

    “In spite of these limitations, the five studies presented here consistently demonstrated that self-esteem at the relational level (but not the collective level) is robustly related to subjective well-being.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The Chinese/Macau context is collectivist, or more collectivist than Western contexts.

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The findings of the current study with regard to the primacy of relational self-esteem corroborate previous experimental research showing that East Asians mainly relied on relational self-esteem (but not personal self-esteem) to buffer death-related anxiety, but Westerners mainly counted on personal self-esteem (but not relational self-esteem) to reduce anxiety.

    “The findings of the current study with regard to the primacy of RSE also corroborate previous experimental research which showed that East Asians mainly relied on RSE (but not PSE) to buffer death-related anxiety, but Westerners mainly counted on PSE (but not RSE) to reduce anxiety [40].”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [40] H Du, 2013, Cultural influences on terror management: Independent and interdependent self-esteem as anxiety buffers, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Recently, researchers have found that both the individual self and the relational self have greater motivational primacy compared to the collective self.

    “Recently, researchers have found that both the individual self and the relational self have greater motivational primacy compared to the collective self [7].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [7] L Gaertner, 2012, A motivational hierarchy within: Primacy of the individual self, relational self, or collective self?, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    These findings contribute substantially to current theorizing on self-esteem and may be useful in developing interventions aimed at optimizing individuals' well-being.

    “These findings contribute substantially to current theorizing on self-esteem and may be useful in developing interventions aimed at optimizing individuals' well-being.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    It is plausible that relational self-esteem contributes to subjective well-being, but we cannot rule out that subjective well-being leads to better self-esteem.

    “While it is plausible that RSE contributes to subjective well-being, we cannot rule out that subjective well-being leads to better self-esteem.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    These findings were consistent with cross-cultural literature showing that among East Asians, interdependent self-construal is more salient compared to independent self-construal, and previous research showing that the predictive effect of personal self-esteem on well-being among East Asians was not as strong as among Westerners.

    “These findings were consistent with the cross-cultural literature which shows that among East Asians, interdependent self-construal is more salient compared to the independent self-construal [26] as well as previous research [38] showing that the predictive effect of PSE on well-being among East Asians was not as strong as the effect among Westerners.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites [26] HR Markus, 1991, Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation, Psychol Rev source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [38] VSY Kwan, 1997, Pancultural explanations for life satisfaction: Adding relationship harmony to self-esteem, J Pers Soc Psychol source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Previous findings showed that collective self-esteem contributed to subjective well-being, even after controlling for personal self-esteem.

    “This result appears surprising because previous findings showed that CSE contributed to subjective well-being, even after controlling for PSE [27, 31].”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites [27] J Crocker, 1994, Collective self-esteem and psychological well-being among White, Black, and Asian college students, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [31] OF Simsek, 2013, Structural Relations of Personal and Collective Self-Esteem to Subjective Well-Being: Attachment as Moderator, Social Indicators Research

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductreasoning

    Multiple indicators of well-being adopted in each study were correlated with each other, so the prediction of self-esteem on one indicator may be partially due to the association of self-esteem with another indicator of well-being.

    “Last, multiple indicators of well-being adopted in each study were correlated with each other so that the prediction of self-esteem on one indicator (e.g., life satisfaction) may be partially due to the association of self-esteem with another indicator of well-being (e.g., happiness).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductown data

    The data were correlational and do not indicate causal relations.

    “Although we observed a consistent pattern with RSE across five studies including a longitudinal survey, the conclusions should be interpreted with caution because our data were correlational and do not indicate causal relations.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductnone given

    Our studies exclusively relied on college students' self-reports of relational and collective self-esteem.

    “In addition, our studies exclusively relied on college students’ self-reports of RSE and CSE.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
48 of 48

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    There is a lack of research on self-esteem at the relational level.

    “However, there is a lack of research on self-esteem at the relational level (relational self-esteem, RSE).”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Not much is known about how the three types of self-esteem predict key outcomes especially when juxtaposed against each other.

    “By focusing mostly on PSE and to a lesser extent on CSE, not much is known about how the three types of self-esteem predict key outcomes especially when juxtaposed against each other.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Fewer studies have examined the association between RSE and subjective well-being compared to PSE and CSE.

    “Compared to the more extensive research on PSE and CSE, fewer studies examined the association between RSE and subjective well-being.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Most existing evidence on RSE and subjective well-being is indirect at best.

    “Unfortunately, most of the existing evidence is indirect at best.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The Chinese/Macau context is collectivist, or more collectivist than Western contexts.

    “at least in the collectivist Chinese context”
    “among more collectivist East Asians at least”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    A 1-month interval is sufficient to detect prospective effects of self-esteem on life satisfaction.

    “we conducted a 1-month longitudinal study and surveyed students’ self-esteem and well-being at two time points”
    “The Time 2 survey (N = 82) was collected 1 month later.”
6 of 6

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • In Asian women college students, longitudinal research indicated that collective self-esteem is a predictor of later life satisfaction.

    “In Asian women college students, longitudinal research indicated that collective self-esteem is a predictor of later life satisfaction, suggesting that clinicians can target the improvement of collective self-esteem to improve the psychological outcomes of their clients [72,73,74,75].”

    From Internalized Racism and Mental Health: The Moderating Role of Collective Racial Self-Esteem (2024) · cites this paper as [73]

    Study 5 (Results and discussion; page unavailable) reports that collective self-esteem was a nonsignificant predictor of later life satisfaction, contrary to the claim. Its longitudinal sample included both women and men, rather than women only (Study 5, Method; page unavailable). (LLM, conf=0.93)

    Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Study 1 overstates the incremental variance explained for life satisfaction

    Major

    Using Table 1's correlations, adding relational self-esteem after personal self-esteem yields an R2 increase of about 0.12, not the 0.21 reported for Step 2. The reported Step 2 coefficients are also consistent with an increase of about 0.12.

  • General discussion attributes a life-satisfaction result to Study 2

    Minor

    The discussion includes Study 2 among studies finding that personal self-esteem was not associated with life satisfaction after controls, but Study 2 measured meaning in life and subjective vitality, not life satisfaction.

  • Study 5 cites the wrong bivariate correlation

    Minor

    Table 9 gives the correlation between T1 relational self-esteem and T2 life satisfaction as .52, not .54.

3 of 3

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

2 of the 57 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. H Tajfel, 2010, I6. Instrumentality, identity and social comparisons, Social identity and intergroup relations, 483

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Du, H., King, R. B., & Chi, P.
Affiliations
  • Guangzhou University (CN)
  • Education University of Hong Kong (HK)
  • University of Macau (MO)
Corresponding author
Du, Hongfei
ORCID
Venue
PLOS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2017-08-25
Volume
12
Issue
8
Pages
e0183958
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0183958
PMC
PMC5571946
OpenAlex
W2748362049
Semantic Scholar
a09f0c9d7fdc01fac2949c5cd996af962876e2b3
Cited by
238
References
57
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 40 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 42 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 5
FWCI
18.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • University of Macau (MYRG2016- 00243-FSS)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (31600911)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Keywords
self-esteem, subjective well-being, collective self-esteem, social identity theory, life satisfaction, positive affect, meaning in life, happiness, subjective vitality, university students, Chinese students
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, China, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Happiness, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Self Concept, Young Adult

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Claims read by deepseek-v4.1-flash under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-10-09.

Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-10-09.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

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