Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Self-esteem has important implications for life outcomes, yet little is known about its antecedents at both the trait and state levels. We examined agency and communion-coded from personal narratives about a past turning-point event-as predictors of trait self-esteem levels, long-term trait changes, and short-term fluctuations (instability) in state self-esteem. METHODS: We used data from a 5-wave intensive longitudinal study of Dutch master's students (N = 281, M(age) = 24.5, 75% females) over a 2-year period, tracking their university-to-work transition. Participants completed a questionnaire and 14-day experience sampling assessments at each wave. Mixed-effects location scale models were used. RESULTS: Agency and communion were positively associated with self-esteem at the beginning of the transition. While communion did not predict instability in state self-esteem, we found some evidence for agency negatively predicting self-esteem instability across days but not across moments. Results neither revealed differences in trait changes as a function of agency or communion nor significant heterogeneity in change trajectories overall. Agency appeared more frequently in students' narratives compared to communion. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that agentic but not communal narratives negatively predict daily self-esteem instability during the work transition but provide limited insight into momentary self-esteem instability and trait changes.