Article Review 2 - Research Paper Example

The questions that Donnellan et al wanted to address through their experiments had been the concerns of numerous observers in the past and present. Some studies concluded that people who have low self-esteem would be subjected to real-world externalizing problems in the future. Meanwhile, other studies were unable to find a concrete relationship between those two factors. The results of these studies left Donnellan and his cohorts eager to bridge the gap in literature and determine once and for all which side of the debate was correct in their findings.

As such, the research question that Donnellan et al focused on was, “Who was right?” with the hypothesis that self-esteem and externalizing issues indeed have a correlation. In forming their experiments, Donnellan et al relied on three past observances that suggested a link between low self-esteem and externalizing issues. The first observance stated that, according to the social-bonding theory, people who do not feel as though they belong among society have a lesser chance of conforming to societal norms and a greater chance of displaying signs of delinquency.

The second observance argued that people who do not have a consistent source of positive self-regard are subjected to psychological complications, including aggression. The final observation posited a similar theory, stating that aggression is influenced by low self-regard. Based on these observations, the authors of this article were able to compile a variety of surveys to explore motivators of aggression in three separate studies. The first study focused on self-reports and teacher evaluations concerning the delinquency in a sample of 11- and 14-year-olds.

Supportive parenting and academic achievement were variables also considered. The sample consisted of 292 students at two schools located in northern California, and they were evaluated based on self-esteem, delinquency, supportive parenting, and academic achievement, all of which were determined based on surveys from the students and reports from their teachers. The results of this study revealed that there is a consistently negative correlation between self-esteem and delinquency; those of the study who were found to be delinquent had lower self-esteem.

However, a connection could not be found between self-esteem and supportive parenting and academic achievement. The second study was essentially an extension of the first study, and looked at self-evaluated self-esteem, relationships with peers and parents, IQ, and a survey concerning externalizing problems that were completed by teachers and parents. The sample of this study consisted of students ages eleven and fourteen who lived in Dunedin, New Zealand, and the methods utilized were surveys dealing with each aforementioned element.

Similar to the results of the previous study, this study revealed a negative correlation between self-esteem and externalizing problems such as antisocial behavior. A connection could not be determined between parent and peer relationships, IQ, and self-esteem. A unique perspective is taken in the third study discussed in the article, which focused on self-esteem and narcissism. The reason for conducting this study was explained by Donnellan et al based on the fact that “