In this chapter, we examine the nature of the causal relationship between self-esteem and occupational conditions as individuals age. Our new empirical analyses are based on data from the third wave, collected in 1994–95, of a long-term longitudinal study of the effects of occupational conditions on psychological functioning. The first two waves were collected in 1964 and 1974 (Kohn & Schooler, 1983).

As is appropriate with most examinations of self-esteem, our conceptualization of the issues starts with Morris Rosenberg. Throughout his career, in both his theoretical explorations and his empirical research, Manny was deeply concerned with the ways in which self-esteem may be affected by experiences that are potentially linked to social structural location. He saw self-esteem as being enhanced when individuals compare themselves favorably with others, receive positive reflected appraisals, stake themselves on identities at which they excel, and justifiably attribute success to dispositional factors and failure to situational ones (Rosenberg, 1986, pp. 62–77). In collaboration with Leonard Pearlin, he also provided compelling evidence suggesting that the degree to which such experiences prove relevant to self-esteem may depend on one's age (Rosenberg & Pearlin, 1982). Their research shows that the impact of social class on self-esteem rises from trivial to significantly positive as individuals progress from childhood to adulthood.

Thus, the meaning of location in the social structure may vary as individuals age. This raises more general questions about the relationship between location in the social structure and self-esteem throughout the life course.