To Örebro University

Contingent self-esteem has regularly been associated with socialization experiences. In the present study, genetic and environmental influences on a contingent self-esteem construct were investigated among women and men in different age groups. The study sample consisted of 21,703 same and opposite sex Swedish twins, aged 20 to 46 years. Contingent self-esteem was measured on a scale for performance-based self-esteem. Sex and age-group effects were assessed using biometrical model fitting procedures. Individual differences in performance-based self-esteem were best explained by additive genetic and non-shared environmental factors for both female and male twins, with similar heritability estimates. No age-group effects were found. However, partially different genes seem to influence performance-based self-esteem among women and men.