Self-Esteem Research, Theory, and Practice Toward a Positive ...

xPrefaceHowever, due to the stunning work of Susan Harter, I have been less concernedwith the early development of self-esteem in childhood and moreconcerned with its management in adulthood. This progress is reflectedin a new chart on how self-esteem is lived over time. The only things thatare new about Chapter 6, which concerns the self-esteem enhancementprogram, are a few new research references on its efficacy and some additionalmaterial (which I find exciting) on how to apply the program in theindividual setting. The new Chapter 7 aims at taking the field of selfesteemin an important direction: right into the new positive psychology.Thus, it begins by comparing the original humanistic positive psychologywith the emerging positivistic positive psychology and ends with attemptingto show how self-esteem should occupy a prominent place in the newone, just as it does in the older version.Over the years, I have come to find that good therapists of all ilkhave some important things in common and that no discipline is bigenough to do it all alone. Thus, as before, this edition is oriented towardboth academic and clinical audiences, especially those from counseling,education, nursing, psychology, and social work. Academics andresearchers will probably find Chapters 2 through 5 most interestingbecause they cover research and theory. Clinicians are likely to find themselvesdrawn more toward Chapters 4 through 6 because they addresshow self-esteem works in relation to problems of living and how to helppeople deal with them more effectively. Chapters 1 and 7 should be ofequal interest to both groups because defining self-esteem may be themost crucial issue in the field right now, and the relationship betweenself-esteem and the new positive psychology could become the mostimportant one for the future. Finally, it might be helpful to say a wordabout writing style. Moving all the way from research, through theory,and then to practice is an unusual approach in this field, as most of itsbooks emphasize only one, or sometimes two, of these themes. However,as a clinician, I know that the best practical tools come from a goodtheory, and as an academician I have learned that the best theory comesfrom good research, so for me, there is no alternative. Consequently, I tryto find a “middle path” in style and tone that is compatible with keyexpectations of both audiences. Because the approach covers a lot ofground, I try to proceed in a logical, systematic fashion: from researchissues and findings, through theory, to practice, and beyond to new issueswith which the field must deal.