The relationship between self-esteem and maladaptive behaviors in high school students

General and area specific self-esteem scores of high school students were found to be inversely related to indices of maladaptive behavior. The specific maladaptive behaviors that were associated with self-esteem varied as a function of gender and social class. Implications for the possible causal relationship between self-esteem and maladaptive behaviors as they relate to gender and social class are discussed.