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PARADISE AND KERNISSelf-Esteem and Psychological Well-Being SELF-ESTEEM AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING: IMPLICATIONS OF FRAGILE SELF-ESTEEM ANDREW W. PARADISE MICHAEL H. KERNIS University of Georgia We examined the extent to which self-esteem (SE) Level and SE Stability predicted scores on Ryff’s (1989) multidimensional measure of psychological well-being. Main effects for SE Level emerged on all six subscales, indicating that high self-es- teem was associated with greater well-being than was low self-esteem. In addition, main effects for SE Stability emerged for the autonomy, environmental mastery, and purpose in life subscales, indicating that stable SE was associated with higher scores than was unstable SE. Finally, SE Level × SE Stability interactions emerged for the self-acceptance, positive relations, and personal growth subscales indicat- ing more complex relationships between self-esteem and these aspects of well-be- ing. Theoretical implications of the relationship between fragile self-esteem and positive psychological functioning are discussed. What constitutes psychological well-being? Does it mean that one is happy or satisfied with one’s life? Or, does it mean something else? After extensive review of the literature, Ryff (1989) argued for a multifaceted conceptualization of psychological well-being that has six core compo- nents: (1) self-acceptance, characterized by holding positive attitudes to- ward oneself; (2) positive relations with others, characterized by the capacity for love, friendship, and identification with others; (3) auton- omy, characterized by qualities such as self-determination, independ- ence, and regulation of behavior from within; (4) environmental mastery, characterized by the ability to choose or create environments suitable to one’s psychic conditions; (5) purpose in life, characterized by Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 21, No. 4, 2002, pp. 345-361 345 This research was supported by grant SBR-9618882 from the N