Domain-Specific Self-Esteem and Internalizing Symptoms across the Transition from Middle School to High School: The Moderating Role of Perceived Domain Importance

A path model revealed that self-expressed importance of particular domains of self-esteem moderates the relation between domain-specific self-esteem and internalizing symptoms. Perceived scholastic competence and social acceptance protect against internalizing symptoms. However, high perceived competence in some domains predicts more internalizing symptoms if those domains are perceived as highly important.