Reciprocal relationships between self-esteem, coping styles and anxiety symptoms among adolescents: between-person and within-person effects

BACKGROUND: Previous researches have not distinguished the between-person effects from the within-person effects when exploring the relationship between self-esteem, coping styles, and anxiety symptoms among adolescents. To address this gap, this study investigated reciprocal associations among self-esteem, coping styles, and anxiety symptoms in a three-wave longitudinal panel survey, using an analytical strategy that disaggregates the within-person and the between-person variance. METHODS: Data was drawn from the Longitudinal Study of Adolescents’ Mental and Behavioral Well-being Research study conducted in 10 public schools in the Guangdong province of China. All participants had a baseline visit (N = 1957, mean age 13.6, grades 7 and 10) and follow-up interviews at 1-year intervals for 3 years. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model combined with mediation analysis was performed. RESULTS: At the within-person level, the following results were observed. (1) Low self-esteem and anxiety symptoms bidirectionally predicted each other. (2) Low self-esteem and negative coping style bidirectionally predicted each other. (3) Anxiety symptoms predicted subsequent negative coping style but not vice versa. At the between-person level, we obtained the following main results. (1) Significant predictive effects on the random intercept were found among all three study constructs. (2) There were sex differences regarding the association between self-esteem and anxiety symptoms and the correlation of females was stronger than that of males. (3) Self-esteem mediated the reciprocal relations between coping styles and anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, findings revealed a reciprocal relationship between low self-esteem and anxiety symptoms for both females and males. Besides, anxiety symptoms predict subsequent negative coping style but not vice versa. We also highlighted the mediating role of self-esteem in the reciprocal relations between coping styles and anxiety symptoms. Thus, interventions targeted at promoting self-esteem and cultivating positive coping style may help reduce adolescent anxiety. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13034-023-00564-4.