Self-Esteem’s Correlation with Marital Conflict

• Natalie Maurer, Human Services, University of Delaware

• Dr. Lisa Jaremka, Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware

Research has shown that self-esteem impacts various life factors, including success and well-being (Yasemin Erol, 2016, p. 274). This study aims to determine the correlation between self-esteem and marital conflict. Couples came in for a study and participated in a variety of surveys to measure different factors such as self-esteem and conflict. All responses were self-reported by participants to gain insight into their marital quality. We recruited 81 married participants (average age: 38.988 years; average marriage length: 10.271 years; 42 males, 39 females; 58 White/Caucasian, 13 Black/African American, 8 Asian/Pacific Islander, 1 Native American, 4 Latino) to complete self-reported surveys. The Rosenberg self-esteem scale was used to measure self-esteem, and a 3 item 7-point Likert scale was used to measure marital conflict. Data were reverse-scored and averaged to create composite scores. We are interested in determining if there is a correlation between self-esteem and marital conflict. Being able to determine correlation may lead to future studies determining how much they relate to each other. This is important because many couples struggle with conflict and poor self-esteem potentially causing problems in their relationship. Pearson correlation analysis showed a significant negative correlation between self-esteem and marital conflict (p = 9.494e-05), indicating that lower self-esteem is associated with higher marital conflict. The significant correlation between self-esteem and marital conflict suggests that couples with lower self-esteem experience more marital conflict. This finding highlights the importance of addressing self-esteem issues to potentially reduce marital conflict. This study provides a foundation for future research on the relationship between self-esteem and marital conflict.