Abstract (eng)
Research suggests a link between stress and an individual’s self-esteem. Given the social components of self-esteem, social-evaluative stressors, characterized by a potential threat to a person’s social status, seem to be of special interest within this framework. The present study aimed to examine a potential predictive effect of self-esteem on the acute stress response following a psychosocial stressor. In addition, an examination of how the degree of social-evaluative threat, manipulated by the presence or absence of other participants, interacted with self-esteem and its effect on the stress reaction, was carried out. 112 participants (49.2 % female) within an age range between 18 and 34 years were recruited for the present study. Participants were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) or Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G), both known for effectively inducing psychosocial stress. Physiological (salivary cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase) and psychological (visual analog scale of subjective stress) markers of stress were assessed at multiple points throughout the experiment. Self-esteem levels were measured in advance using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) as part of an online questionnaire. Results indicated that there was no predictive effect of self-esteem on increases in salivary cortisol, salivary alpha-amylase, and subjective stress in response to a psychosocial stressor. In addition, the relationship between self-esteem and the physiological and psychological reaction to a psychosocial stressor was not moderated by the presence or absence of others. The current investigation thus partly contradicts previous studies and raises further questions regarding the relationship between self-esteem and stress, as well as the role of social interaction.