Discussion

1. Differences Between Men and Women’s Self-esteem in Relation to Financial Independence, Social Support, and Stress ??? ? ??? University of Nebraska-Lincoln Introduction Results Many different variables can make a difference between men and women’s self-esteem. The purpose of this study is to examine whether age, financial independence from family, family social support, friend social support, and stress influence men and women’s self-esteem differently. Twenge & Campbell (2002) found that age did not really influence the relationship between financial status and self-esteem when women and men were in high school and college. Women, however, had more self-esteem when they did not have financial support from employment (Waters & Moore, 2002). Another study reported that men who lived around the 1920s had more self-esteem in relation to their financial status, while women had more self-esteem around the 1970s (Twenge & Campbell 2002). Friend and teacher support positively influenced self-esteem, but they did not influence men and women’s self-esteem differently, which is similar to family support because it did not influence men and women differently (Colarossi & Eccles, 2003). Waters & Moore (2002) found that friend support, however, positively influenced women’s self-esteem when they did not have financial support from employment. Women also had more stress than men did when they were in the midst of their adolescent years (Jose & Ratcliffe, 2004). Michie, Glachan, & Bray (2001) found similar results because women had more stress in relation to scholastic activities. The first hypothesis was that age would not influence men and women’s self-esteem, which is similar to the results found by Twenge & Campbell (2002) in which age did not really influence men and women’s self-esteem in their high school and college years. It was also hypothesized that financial independence from family would have a positive influence on women’s self-esteem. The third hypothesis was that friend support would have a positive relationship with women’s self-esteem. The fourth hypothesis was that family support would not influence men or women’s self-esteem. Finally, it was hypothesized that stress would have a more negative influence on women’s self-esteem than men’s self-esteem. A series of regression analyses were run to examine the relationships between the self-esteem scale (ses) and age, financial independence from family (findep), significant other social support (soss), family social support (fass), friend social support (frss), and stress and compare the models derived from males and females. Table 1 shows the univariate statistics of the self-esteem scale (ses) and the predicting variables for males and females. Males had positive significant correlations between the self-esteem scale (ses) and significant other social support (soss), family social support (fass), and friend social support (frss), while age and financial independence from family (findep) negatively correlated with self-esteem. Females had positive significant correlations between the self-esteem scale (ses) and financial independence from family (findep), significant other social support (soss), family social support (fass), friend social support (frss), and stress, while age did not correlate with self-esteem. The male model accounted for a significant amount of variance R2 = 0.244, F(6, 179) = 9.308, p < .001. Table 1 shows the regression weights and beta weights of the model. In the male model, significant other social support (soss) positively and significantly contributed to the model. Age and financial independence from family (findep) did not contribute to the model. Stress negatively and significantly contributed to the model. The female model had a significant amount of variance R2 = 0.289, F(6, 224) = 14.790, p < .001. Table 1 shows the regression weights and beta weights of the model. In the female model, financial independence from family (findep), family social support (fass), friend social support (frss) positively and significantly contributed to the model. Stress negatively and significantly contributed to the model. Age did not contribute to the female model. Comparison of the fit of the model from the male group revealed there was no significant mean difference between the respective R2 values, R2 = 0.244 & R2 = 0.289, respectively, Z = 0.594, p > .05. The predictor set does equally well for both groups. A comparison of the structure of the models from the two groups was also conducted by applying the model derived from the male group to the data of the female group and comparing the crossed R2 with the direct R2 originally obtained from this group. The direct R2 and crossed R2 were significantly different, R2= 0.29 & R2 = 0.24, Z = 2.02987, p < .05, which indicates that there is an apparent differential structure of the regression weights from the two groups. Table 1 Univariate Statistics. Males Females _____________ _____________ r with r with Variable mean std ses b  mean std ses b  Self-esteem 33.69 5.140 32.98 5.289 Age 26.70 9.934 .026 .001 .003 29.90 11.413 .111 .023 .050 Financial 1.46 .500 .034 .574 .056 1.54 .509 .138 1.902* .183* independence from Family Significant 5.667 1.530 .331 .891** .265** 5.99 1.142 .349 .374 .100 Other Social Support Family Social 5.472 1.352 .297 .288 .076 5.53 1.528 .346 .553* .160* Support Friend Social 5.407 1.248 .249 .012 .003 5.70 1.341 .331 .893** .226** Support Stress 8.55 7.190 -.380 -.246** -.345** 8.82 7.662 -.363 -.177** -.257** Constant 28.323 20.54 *Significant at the .05 level. **Significant at the .01 level. Method Participants Undergraduate students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln participated in the study, which included 204 (102 male, 102 female) traditional students from an introductory psychology course offered through the Psychology department. Participants’ ages ranged from 18 to 20 years old, so the study would denote the undergraduate population. Non-traditional undergraduate students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln included 201 (78 males, 123 females; M = 38.4) students to denote an older population who were at least 30 years old. The majority of the students were Caucasians (94.1%) compared to 1.5% African Americans, 1% Asians, 1% Native Americans, 0.7% Latinos, and 1.7% others. Measures The participants filled out eight scales such as the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MPSS), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES), Life Experiences Survey (LES), and the Demographic Information Sheet (DIS). The MSPSS involves 12 items from perceived social support, which include family, friends, and significant others (Zimet et al., 1988). The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES) involves ten items related to self-esteem within the social sciences literature (Blascovich & Tomaka, 1991). The Life Experiences Survey (LES) measures the most reoccurring stressful situations participants have experienced (Sarason, Johnson, & Siegel, 1978). The Demographic Information Sheet (DIS) measures participants’ ages, gender, and financial independence from family. Procedures Two-hundred and four undergraduate students between the ages of 18 and 20 gave their consent to participate in the study. Participants met with the researcher at an arranged time in order to be debriefed about the requirements. At the time, students mentioned their concerns about their confidentiality. After the students gave their consent, they randomly filled out the questionnaires in about 30-45 minutes. Once the students filled out the questionnaires, they received a sheet that described the purpose of the study as well as the researchers’ expectations of the results. For the non-traditional students, packets were mailed to them with the expectation that they would be returned to the researchers. Discussion Since Twenge & Campbell (2002) found that age did not really influence self-esteem when men and women were within their high school and college years, the current study found similar results because age did not lead to gender differences in self-esteem as hypothesized. Waters & Moore (2002) found that men had lower self-esteem than women when they had no financial support from employment, which is similar to the current study in which financial independence from family only contributed to women’s self-esteem as hypothesized. They believed this difference was related to men’s beliefs that they are supposed to support their families financially. Friend social support also had a positive influence on women’s self-esteem when they did not have financial support from employment (Waters & Moore 2002). As hypothesized, this study found that friend support had a positive contribution to women’s self-esteem. Although Colarossi & Eccles (2003) did not find gender differences between friend support, parent support, and self-esteem, friend and teacher support had a positive relationship with self-esteem. As hypothesized, the current study found that friend support positively contributed to women’s self-esteem. The fourth hypothesis was, however, partially supported because family support contributed to women’s self- esteem. The different findings could be attributed to the different variables used in the studies. According to Jose and Ratcliffe (2004), stress had a greater influence on women’s self-esteem than men’s self-esteem. Michie, Glachan, & Bray (2001) found similar results because women had more stress as well as lower self-concepts in relation to scholastic activities. As hypothesized, the current study found that stress negatively influenced women’s self-esteem more than men’s self-esteem. Based on these results, financial independence from family needs to be further investigated because it influences men and women’s self-esteem differently. Financial independence from family needs to be studied in relation to cultural influences because Waters & Moore (2002) found that the difference between men and women’s self-esteem could be related to the importance for men to support their families financially. The current study found similar results because financial independence from family increased women’s self-esteem, whereas financial independence from family did not influence men’s self-esteem.