An Influence of Adolescent's Self-Esteem and Environmental Characteristics on Life Satisfaction : Moderating Effect of Positive Self-Evaluation and Negative Self-Evaluation

This study analyzes the moderating effects of the self-esteem on the life satisfaction of 2,040 middle school senior students using the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey 2012 Data (KCYPS 2012) provided by the National Youth Policy Institute. The path analysis of how environmental characteristics, such as parents, friends, and school, affect life satisfaction, is based on four groups of self-esteem, categorized by positive and negative self-evaluation levels. The analysis suggests that groups with higher levels of positive self-evaluation have closer relevance in more paths than other groups. Furthermore, in groups with higher levels of negative self-evaluation, negative effects on life satisfaction are offset by positive self-evaluation. These results suggest research associated with the mental health of adolescents and their self-esteem should be performed according to two separate levels of self-esteem: positive self-evaluation and negative self-evaluation. Since low levels of negative self-evaluation doesn't necessarily guarantee high levels of positive self-evaluation, counseling for adolescents needs to have different tracks, addressing positive and negative self-evaluation levels.