Changing self-esteem in children and adolescent: a roadmap for future interventions

Self-esteem is an important construct that is related to academic achievement, social functioning and psychopathology in children and adolescents. Therefore, it is not surprising that many interventions have tried to change levels of self-esteem in this population. In this article a theoretical overview of self-esteem in children and adolescents is presented, in which recent research on different aspects of self-esteem will be discussed. Subsequently, research on treatment and primary prevention programs to change self-esteem in children and adolescents is reviewed. It is argued that self-esteem interventions will be more effective when they are theory- and evidence-based and tailored to the specific needs of different target groups. Finally, a roadmap for the development of theory- and evidence-based interventions is presented and some recommendations for future self-esteem interventions are provided. (netherlands journal of psychology 2006, 62, 26-33.).