Coping with threats to self-esteem: the differing patterns of subjects with high versus low trait self-esteem in first-person accounts

Based on retrospective self‐reports, strategies of coping with threats to self‐esteem in close relationships were investigated in a sample of 412 adults in south‐west Germany. Results indicate that self‐esteem was negatively associated with experiencing failure or criticism as a threat to self‐esteem. There was a positive association between participants' self‐esteem and their self‐reported tendency to approach the problem optimistically and act in a rational manner. Self‐esteem was negatively associated with feeling dependent on the partner and with treating the partner in a hostile way. As far as women were concerned, self‐esteem was also positively related to coping effectiveness. In the case of men the results were less clear. It is suggested that the self‐defeating coping style associated with low self‐esteem may be self‐perpetuating. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.