Creativity and Self-esteem in Adolescence: A Study of their Domain-Specific, Multivariate Relationships

Abstract

lthough empirical investigations on the Creative Self have historically started with a focus on self-esteem, the literature on its relationship with creative performance remains thin and inconsistent, with estimated relationships ranging from moderate and negative, to strongly positive. Discrepancies may be explained by the domain-specificity of both creativity and self-esteem that have been widely overlooked in this line of work. Therefore, this study explores the multivariate relationships between creativity in three domains (Music, Literary-Verbal, Graphic) and self-esteem in seven domains (e.g., Academic, Emotional) among 170 adolescents. Creative productions were scored by four ratters, and latent consensus in each domain captured using a multi-informant latent-consensus model in SEM. This model was further extended in a structural model revelling that (a) creativity is mainly domain-specific, and (b) the contribution of domain-specific selfesteem on domain-specific creativity greatly varies according to both the domains of creativity and selfesteem. Up to 30% of the variance in creative performance was explained by “domain relevant” self-esteem facets and a moderate contribution of creative self-esteem across creativity domains. Results are discussed in light of several important methodological directions for this line of work, as well as its implications for creativity-based interventions designed to support positive self-esteem development in adolescence