Eric Pollak, Psy.D.
Incoming Class of 2008
Internship: VA Hudson Valley Healthcare System
September 2013 Conferral
Family Environment, Social Support, & Gender as Predictors of Self-Esteem in Jewish Orthodox Adolescents
Chair: Eva L. Feindler, Ph.D.
Adolescence is a time of major change in one’s life and maladaptive behaviors that emerge often continue beyond this period in one’s life. This study explored family environment, social support, and gender as predictors of self-esteem in adolescents. Two hundred and thirty high school seniors (134 boys, 86 girls, 10 unknown, ages 17-19) from six New York metropolitan area Jewish Orthodox high schools volunteered to complete the Social Support Questionnaire-6 (SSQ-6; Sarason, Sarason, Shearin, & Pierce, 1987), evaluating the extent of one’s social support, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE; Rosenberg, 1989), measuring global self-esteem, and the Family Environment Scale (FES; Moos & Moos, 2002), assessing their family relationships and structure. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that low family control, high family participation in recreational activities, and greater social support satisfaction were significant predictors of self-esteem. Family conflict and cohesion, and gender were not significant predictors. Results are discussed in terms of school type and the ability of family environment, social support, and gender to predict self-esteem in Jewish Orthodox adolescents.