Nor does high self-esteem protect against teen pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, alcoholism, drug abuse, or chronic welfare dependency. Several comprehensive reviews of the research literature by different authors have all concluded that self-esteem doesn't cause much of anything. Even the book sponsored by the California Task Force to Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility, which spent a quarter of a million dollars trying to raise Californians' self-esteeem, found that self-esteem isn't linked to academic achievement, good behaviour, or any other outcome the Task Force was formed to address.
... Roy Baumeister, the lead author of an extensive review of the research on self-esteem, found that self-esteem does not lead to better grades, improved work performance, decreased violence, or less cheating. In fact, people with high self esteem are often more violent and more likely to cheat. "It is very questionable whether [the few benefits] justify the effort and expense that schools, parents and therapists have put into raising self-esteem," Baumeister wrote. "After all these years, I'm sorry to say, my reccomendation is this: forget about self-esteem and concentrate more on self-control and self-discipline."
- Jean Twenge, Generation Me, p. 65/66
